Jérome Polenz (born 7 November 1986) is a German retired professional footballer who mostly played as a defender.
Club career
Early career
Polenz was born in Berlin, Germany, to an Algerian father and a German mother. He first began his youth career with SC Siemensstadt at the age of seven before advancing through the youth systems of CFC Hertha 06 and TeBe Berlin. Growing up, Polenz attended the Gymnasium Obervieland and graduated with an Abitur diploma.
When he was fifteen years old, Polenz joined Werder Bremen and quickly developed his way through the club's teams. After three years on Bremen's reserve team, he made his first team debut on 4 February 2006, beating Mainz 4–2. Following his debut, Polenz signed his first professional contract with the club, keeping him until 2009. He later went on to make three appearances at the end of the 2005–06 season. Polenz made no appearances in the first team throughout the 2006–07 season.
Alemannia Aachen
It was announced on 15 June 2007 that Polenz joined Alemannia Aachen on a three–year contract, effectively joining the club on 1 July 2007.
He made his debut for the club, coming on as an 83rd-minute substitute, in a 3–0 win against FC Normannia Gmünd in the first round of the DFB–Pokal. In a follow–up match, Polenz made his first start for Alemannia Aachen, playing in the defensive midfield position, as the club drew 2–2 against Carl Zeiss Jena. Since joining Alemannia Aachen, he was involved in the first team, rotating in playing as a striker, right–midfield and right–back positions. Polenz also began to contribute assists, assisting four times However, along the way, he was plagued with injuries on five occasions. At the end of the 2007–08 season, Polenz went on to make twenty–seven appearances in all competitions.
At the start of the 2008–09 season, Polenz continued to regain his first team place and began playing in the right–back position. However, he suffered a torn ankle ligament injury while training and was sidelined for "a long time". Polenz did not return to the first team until on 14 December 2008 against FC Augsburg, coming on as an 82nd-minute substitute, as Alemannia Aachen lost 3–1. However, in a match against Hansa Rostock on 6 February 2009, he was sent–off for a straight red card in the 45th minute, as the club drew 3–3. After the match, it was announced that Polenz would have to serve a two match suspension. After serving a two match suspension, he returned to the first team against MSV Duisburg on 2 March 2009, coming on as a 60th-minute substitute, in a 2–1 loss. In a follow–up against SC Freiburg, Polenz set up Alemannia Aachen's only goal of the game, in a 2–1 loss. Despite being sidelined on two occasions later in the 2008–09 season, he later regained his first team place, playing in the right–back position for the rest of the season. At the end of the 2008–09 season, Polenz went on to make twenty–four appearances in all competitions.
At the start of the 2009–10 season, however, Polenz suffered a posterior cruciate ligament injury in his right knee in a 4–2 loss against Hearts in a friendly match. After the match, Alemannia Aachen announced on their website that he would be sidelined for about ten weeks. By October, Polenz recovered from his injury and was featured in two matches for the club's reserve team. He did not make his return to the first team until 1 November 2009 against FC Augsburg, coming on as a 77th-minute substitute, in a 1–0 win. However, Polenz continued to remain out of the sidelined, including another injury that saw out for a month. As a result, he was restricted to two starts for Alemannia Aachen.
Union Berlin
On 11 May 2010, Polenz signed for Union Berlin for the 2010–11 season, signing a three–year contract.
He made his debut for the club against Halle in the first round of the DFB–Pokal, and started the whole game, as Union Berlin lost 1–0. After joining the club, Polenz found himself competing with Marc Pfertzel and Paweł Thomik. As a result, he found his first team opportunities, resulting in him being placed on the substitute bench, as well as, his own injury concern. In December 2010, Polenz, along with Kenan Şahin, was barred from the first team squad and instead, the duo trained in the reserve squad. Following this, he never played in the first team for the rest of the 2010–11 season and made seven appearances in all competitions.