Daniel Schwaab (born 23 August 1988) is a German former professional footballer who played for SC Freiburg, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, VfB Stuttgart and PSV Eindhoven, mainly as a centre-back.

[6][1] On 17 September 2006, Schwaab made his Freiburg debut, starting in the right-back position and playing for 79 minutes in a 1–1 draw against 1860 Munich.

[18][19][20] At the end of the 2006-07 season, which saw Freiburg finish in fourth place, missing out on promotion to the Bundesliga, he made thirty–two appearances in all competitions.

[44][45] He was ever-present, starting in every league match, until he was suspended for the fixture against Wehen Wiesbaden on 27 February 2009 after picking up five yellow cards.

During the 2008–09 season, with his Freiburg contract running out it was announced that Schwaab was to join top flight side Bayer Leverkusen.

[51][54] Schwaab made his debut (starting the whole game in the right–back position and keeping a clean sheet) in a 1–0 win against SV Babelsberg 03 in the first round of the 2009–10 DFB-Pokal.

[63][64] He returned to the starting line–up against Borussia Mönchengladbach and helped Leverkusen draw 1–1, resulting in the club qualifying for the UEFA Europa League next season.

[67][68] In a match against Rosenberg in the UEFA Europa League on 16 September 2010, he set up a goal for Patrick Helmes (who went on to score a hat–trick) in a 4–0 win.

[76] On 19 October 2011 he made his UEFA Champions League debut, coming on as a late substitute in a 2–1 win against Valencia.

[79] He made his first appearance of the season against Carl Zeiss Jena in the first round of DFB Pokal and set up Leverkusen's third goal in a 4–0 win.

[92][93][94] He made his debut for the club in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League third round against Botev Plovdiv and started the whole game, in a 1–1 draw.

[109] He missed some matches through injury and suspension during the season but was able to contribute sufficiently to help Stuttgart avoid relegation.

[110][111][112] In the 2015–16 season, Schwaab appeared only three times in the first two months as he competed with Florian Klein over the right-back position, and was frequently on the substitutes' bench.

[113][114][115][116][117] By October, Schwaab regained his first team place, playing three times in a defensive midfield position[118][119][120] then was used either at centre–back or right–back for the rest of the season.

[128] After leaving Stuttgart, Schwaab moved to reigning Eredivisie champions PSV Eindhoven on a free transfer, signing a three-year contract on 11 July 2016.

[138][139][140][141][142] Schwaab's performances were praised by manager Phillip Cocu, saying: "I thought Daniel played an excellent game.

[150] After being dropped to the bench for the next three matches, He returned to the starting line–up against Feyenoord on 17 September 2017 and helped the club keep a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win to maintain their position at the top of the table.

[153][154][155][156] PSV went on a run of ten consecutive victories between 17 September and 3 December 2017,[157][158][159] during which Schwaab scored his first goal for the club, in a 5–2 win against VVV-Venlo.

[160] Schwaab started at centre–back on 15 April 2018, as PSV Eindhoven beat rivals Ajax 3–0 to clinch the Eredivise title.

[170] He helped the club got off to a good start to the season, including qualifying for the UEFA Champions League Group Stage after beating Bate Borisov.

[174] After the match, Schwaab acknowledged his faults and vowed to help the club maintain their title chase.

"[186] Following his release by PSV Eindhoven, Schwaab returned to Germany and trained at his former clubs, SV Waldkirch and SC Freiburg, in order to maintain his fitness.

"[192] His first game after re-signing on a permanent came on 29 August 2019 against Apollon Limassol in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League Play–off round.

[193] Schwaab continued as a first-team regular, making 24 appearances and scoring twice in all competitions before the 2019–20 Eredivisie halted on 12 March 2020 due to the pandemic; the season was eventually cancelled.

[200] After leaving the club, he spoke in an interview with Eindhoven Dagblad, saying: "I cherish this period of four years for the rest of my life.

"[201] On 30 January 2006, Schwaab made his Germany U18 debut, starting and playing 76 minutes before being substituted in a 5–1 win over Finland U18.

[212] He played in both legs of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification against France U21, as Germany won 2–1 on aggregate.

[221][222] Schwaab announced his retirement from playing in October 2020, and began a work placement at former SC Freiburg.

[226][227] Schwaab grew up supporting SC Freiburg, later revealing he had slept in club-branded bedclothes as a child, eventually playing for them as he reached his adulthood.