The fourth in our series of articles aimed at highlighting the best youngsters across Europe’s five top leagues sees us turn our attention to the Bundesliga. What’s instantly noticeable is the number of players in our XI from champions Dortmund- the club are represented four times here, a brilliant vindication of their decision to turn their back on big-money ventures and instead focus on acquiring young, promising players following near-bankruptcy in 2005.
In addition, the future looks bright for the German national side, with no fewer than ten of their youngsters finding a place in our 4-2-3-1 starting line-up. Here’s the rundown on our XI:
Goalkeeper
Marc-André ter Stegen, MGladbach. Age 19. 6 apps, WhoScored.com rating 7.28
Drafted into the MGladbach first-team in April as his side battled relegation, Ter Stegen conceded just 3 goals in his crucial 6 appearances, chalking up 3 clean sheets along the way. His displays between the posts were vital in helping MGladbach avoid an automatic drop out the Bundesliga and with the club subsequently winning a two-leg play-off against VfL Bochum to ensure their top-flight survival, the youngster can surely expect to start from the outset next season.
Full-Back
Diego Contento, Bayern Munich. Age 21. 14 apps. WhoScored.com rating 6.72
Daniel Schwaab, Leverkusen. Age 22. 30 apps. WhoScored.com rating 6.87
An automatic first-team choice for runners-up Leverkusen, Schwaab is more comfortable at right-back, though filled in at centre-half on seven occasions last term. Contento managed 12 appearances for Munich due to an injury-plagued campaign for Bayern’s first-choice Danijel Pranjic but his performances suggest Pranjic may have a battle on his hands to keep the left-back slot, even when fully fit.
Contento made 2.6 tackles per game in comparison to Schwaab’s 2.3 but the latter edged it for interceptions (2.2 to 2.1) and clearances (2.1 to 1.2) with Contento’s low clearances, in particular, needing to be improved upon. The Bayern man is more concise in distribution, with 83% pass accuracy to Schwaab’s 78%.
Of the two, though, Schwaab is the more attack-minded, making 0.8 crosses to 0.5 per game and his key passes are double that of Contento, with an average of 0.8 to 0.4. His skill on the ball saw him make 1.2 successful dribbles per game, very impressive for a full-back, and there’s little doubt he looks like a star in the making. Both players failed to score or assist, though, and with a lowly 0.2 shots per game, the pair could certainly up their goal efforts.
Centre Half
Mats Hummels, Dortmund. Age 22. 32 apps. WhoScored.com rating 7.03
Phillip Wollscheid, Nurnberg. Age 22. 19 apps. WhoScored.com rating 7.09
Hummels was the beating heart of a Dortmund back-four that conceded a mere 22 goals on their way to the title last term and his contribution at the back was matched by a fantastic eye for goal. Wollscheid was given his first start of the season in late November and never looked back, with his performances helping Nurnberg to a sixth-place finish. Also capable of finding the net, our centre-half pairing offers plenty at both ends of the pitch.
Wollscheid leads the way with 2.8 tackles to Hummels’ 2.1 but the latter has a better reading of the game, making 2.9 interceptions to Wollscheid’s 2.4. Both are impressive in terms of clearances, with 4.5 to 4.1 in the Nurnberg man’s favour and Wollscheid also edges it for blocked shots, with 0.7 to Hummels’ 0.4.
Crucially, Hummels is far more disciplined in the challenge, making 0.8 fouls, less than half Wollscheid’s 1.7 per game. Hummels is a greater goal threat, averaging 1 shot to Wollscheid’s 0.5 but the pair performed brilliantly in front of goal, with 5 and 3 goals respectively. In possession, Hummels is the safer of the two- 78% of his passes are successful, with Wollscheid not far behind on 75%, though the Nurnberg centre-half was outstanding in the air, winning an incredible 75% of aerial challenges- Hummels, with 64%, is still more than impressive. All in all, the duo makes a real physical handful of a centre-half partnership for our side.
Double Pivot
Sven Bender, Dortmund. Age 22. 31 apps. WhoScored.com rating 7.05
Nuri Sahin, Dortmund. Age 22. 30 apps. WhoScored.com rating 7.73
Our central midfield is in the safest of hands, with the title-winning Dortmund pair of Sven Bender and Nuri Sahin taking their place in front of the back-four. Sahin’s creative talents protected by Bender’s dynamic ball-winning ability, produces the perfect partnership in the middle of the field, as the duo so magnificently proved for the champions last season.
The pair made 8.5 tackles between them per game, with Bender averaging a phenomenal 4.8. Sahin, with 3.7 tackles and 2.3 interceptions, shows he has much more than just passing to his game, though Bender’s role as “protector” saw him eclipse Sahin again, with 3.3 interceptions. Bender also won 53% of his aerial duels, proving himself to be the perfect foil for the Turkish maestro.
Sahin made 3.5 key passes per game, with Bender’s defensive role showing in his average return of just 0.5 key passes, though both had the same pass accuracy- 76%. Sahin played 5.5 long balls per game, an indication that he doesn’t need to beat an opponent from deep too often- he made 1 successful dribble per game, with Bender on 0.4. Sahin’s set-pieces and penalties helped him on the way to 1.6 shots per game and he found the net on 6 occasions, in addition to picking up 8 assists.
Attacking Midfield
Mario Götze, Dortmund. Age 19. 33 apps. WhoScored.com rating 7.27
Marko Marin, Werder Bremen. Age 22. 34 apps. WhoScoed.com rating 7.17
Thomas Müller, Bayern Munich. Age 21. 32 apps. WhoScored.com rating 7.32
Dortmund wonderkid Mario Götze is given the central role in our attacking midfield three, with his creativity key to our XI’s success. On the right is Bayern’s Thomas Müller, guaranteeing a glut of goals and assists in equal measure, and Marko Marin of Werder Bremen takes his place on the left wing, with his brilliant dribbling giving full-backs headaches from the first minute of the game to the last.
Only Lionel Messi made more successful dribbles than Marko Marin in Europe’s top five leagues last season- Marin’s incredible 4.1 per game indicates his ability when it comes to taking on an opponent. Müller registered 1.9 and Götze 1.5, showing just how much skill our trio have to unlock the opposition defence.
Götze has a real eye for a killer pass, with 2.5 key passes per game indicative of his distribution. He was second only to Sahin here for Dortmund but unlike the playmaker, Götze didn’t have set-pieces to boost his tally. Müller and Marin, with 1.6 key passes per game, offer plenty of creativity from both flanks. The trio shared 31 assists between them last term- Müller and Götze grabbed 11 each while Marin picked up 9.
In terms of goal threat, Marin managed the most attempts per game, with 1.7, though his finishing is the poorest of the three, with just 3 goals to his name last term. Müller’s eye for goal is shown by his 12 goals, as the Bayern man averaged 1.4 shots per game and Götze had 1 shot per game, an indication of his tendency to find a team mate rather than attempt to score, though he still chipped in with 6 goals for the champions.
Front Man
Andre Schürrle, Mainz 05. Age 20. 33 apps. WhoScored.com rating 7.11
Seventh-top scorer in the Bundesliga, Andre Schürrle scored 15 of his side’s 52 goals as Mainz 05 finished fifth. He averaged 2 shots per game, meaning he scored 1 goal with every 4.4 shots and, with 0.8 key passes per game, picked up 4 assists over his 33 games. Standing just over 6 foot tall, he has plenty of skill for a big man, making a fantastic 2.5 successful dribbles per game and with such an impressive all-round game, there’s little surprise he was snapped up by Leverkusen in anticipation of 2011/122. With lots of service from the three directly behind and Sahin’s passing from deep, he’d find the net countless times for our XI.
