Background
Adler is the son of former East German international Jens Adler.
Adler is the son of former East German international Jens Adler.
Adler is the vice captain of Hamburg. VfB Leipzig
Adler started at age six playing for VfB Leipzig"s youth side. After nine years for Leipzig, Adler joined the youth system of Bayer 04 Leverkusen in 2000.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
After serving the youth system, Adler joined the B team in 2002.
At the beginning of the 2003-2004 season he became part of the clubs first team, which played in the Bundesliga. Nevertheless, he didn"t make an appearance and continued to play for the second team
In May 2006 he sustained a rib craze, which led to a surgery in which his rib was strengthened. Because of his injury Adler had to pause until February 2007.
He made his Bundesliga debut in dramatic fashion on 25 February 2007 against league leaders Schalke 04.
With starting goalkeeper Hans-Jörg Butt serving a suspension following a red card, Adler saved ten shots on goal, repelling Schalke"s repeated attacks. A breakaway goal by Stefan Kießling in the 85th minute gave Leverkusen a 1–0 upset victory. Leverkusen manager Michael Skibbe praised Adler"s "world-class saves".
He stopped Schalke"s record of 13 games unbeaten, Stuttgart"s record of five games unbeaten and Hamburg"s four-game winning spree with a saved penalty kick against Rafael van der Vaart.
In the following years, Adler continued to be the first choice goalkeeper until newly signed Bernd Leno took his place due to injuries. Previously, Leverkusen wanted to renew his contract but Adler rejected those offers.
In summer 2012, Adler left the club for a free transfer after twelve years with Leverkusen. Hamburger SV
Adler signed a five-year contract at Bundesliga rivals Hamburger SV in 2012.
Adler has been a club captain at all levels of competition and at the German Under-19 championships he was one of the star players of the tournament.
Adler has made four appearances for the German U-21 team under the leadership of Dieter Eilts. He was part of the German team that finished as runners-up in Euro 2008. After the retirement of Jens Lehmann and death of Robert Enke, he became first choice during the World Cup qualifying.
He made his debut for Germany on 11 October 2008 in a World Cup qualifier against Russia.
Despite having been confirmed as Germany"s main team goalkeeper for the World Cup, a serious rib injury prevented him from travelling to South Africa. He was out of contention for the national team for two years, but was recalled in November 2012 for a friendly against the Netherlands after putting in impressive performances since joining Hamburger SV. However, Adler was not selected for the German squad for World Cup 2014.