Early career Born in
Wadern,
Saarland, Wollscheid started his career in the youth teams of various local amateur sides. He made his first team debut in March 2007 for SG Noswendel-Wadern in the
Landesliga – then the seventh tier of the
German football league system. At the start of the 2007–08 season, he joined
SV Rot-Weiss Hasborn in the fifth tier
Oberliga, appearing 18 times for the club before moving to
1. FC Saarbrücken six months later. He struggled to make an impact during his 18-month spell at the club, and made many of his 30 league appearances as a substitute. Following Saarbrücken's promotion to the
Regionalliga in 2009, Wollscheid decided to look for a new club.
1. FC Nürnberg He arranged a trial with
1. FC Nürnberg, and subsequently signed a three-year deal with the club. Having not trained at a youth academy like many other young footballers, Wollscheid admitted to knowing little about tactics before he joined Nürnberg, and had little idea about how a
back four operates. He spent his first season at the club playing for the
club's reserve team, making 26
Regionalliga appearances and scoring one goal. He rose to prominence during the
2010–11 Bundesliga season, making his first team debut in a 3–1 defeat against
1. FC Kaiserslautern in November 2010. He soon became a regular starter for Nürnberg and finished the year ranked third among all Bundesliga defenders, according to
kicker's player ratings.
Bayer Leverkusen In November 2011, Wollscheid agreed a five-year deal with
Bayer Leverkusen beginning from summer 2012. In the
2012–13 season under the management of
Sami Hyypiä, Wollscheid played 40 times scoring three goals as Leverkusen finished in third position.
Mainz loan In the summer of 2014, Wollscheid joined
1. FSV Mainz 05 on loan for the
2014–15 season. He played five times for Mainz before leaving in January 2015. He made his debut for Stoke on 11 January 2015 in a 3–0 defeat away at
Arsenal. In his second match against
Leicester City, Wollscheid played alongside
Marc Muniesa as Stoke secured a 1–0 victory. His performance earned him praise from manager
Mark Hughes. However his performances dropped off and he was criticized for poor performances against
Blackburn Rovers and
Sunderland. He went and played a total of 14 games for Stoke in
2014–15. Wollscheid was a key member of
Mark Hughes's squad in
2015–16, playing 39 times as the Potters finished in ninth position and reached the semi-final of the
League Cup. His time at Wolfsburg started terribly after playing just two matches he was suspended by the club for a training ground row with head coach
Dieter Hecking. After Hecking was sacked Wollschied's return to training was disrupted by a severe case of
tinnitus which required ear surgery. He regained his fitness and played some matches for
the reserve team in the
Regionalliga. He returned to the first team under new head coach
Andries Jonker as Wolfsburg beat
Eintracht Braunschweig in the relegation play-off to remain in the Bundesliga.
Metz Wollscheid joined French club
Metz on 30 August 2017, after his Stoke contract was cancelled by mutual consent. He left Metz in January 2018 after failing to make a
Ligue 1 appearance. ==Retirement==