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Top Ten: Bundesliga Starlets 2010/11
Dominic Curtis
Posted on: 16 May 2011 - 14:20
Football
It has been a fascinating season in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund picking up the title with a team of youngsters widely praised for their attacking intent and defensive solidty. Paying homage to six of Jurgen Klopp's exciting squad, Sport.co.uk identifies the ten most talented starlets plying their trade in Germany at the moment.
Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund)
Arguably the Bundesliga’s best defender this season, the 22-year-old Borussia Dortmund centre-back has formed a fantastic partnership with Serbian stopper Neven Subotic conceding only 22 goals all season.
Hummels is a graduate of the Bayern Munich youth academy where he played alongside Thomas Müller and current Bayern No.1 Thomas Kraft. He joined the Bavarian academy at the age of six and played as a sweeper for many years in the old 3-5-2 formation.
Comfortable on the ball, precise in the tackle and a fine reader of the game well, his greatest attribute comes in the form of his aerial ability. A towering presence in his own box he is also a threat in the opposition penalty area as he demonstrated on his return to Munich when he headed in the third goal in Februarys 3-1 win.
Hummels made his Germany debut last summer in the World Cup warm-up win over Malta but was not selected to go to South Africa. He has though featured in three of Germany’s last four matches including a recent 2-1 defeat at the hands of Australia.
Although he is yet to start a competitive game at international level he will not have to wait too long for the opportunity.
Shinji Kagawa (Borussia Dortmund)
When Dortmund signed Kagawa from Cerezo Osaka last summer no one could have imagined the impact he would have on the Bundesliga.
The Japanese midfielder has been an absolute revelation this season scoring eight Bundesliga goals in just 17 appearances. His energy and endeavour have made him a crowd favourite at Signal Iduna Park from the outset but it was the two goals in September’s 3-1 over Schalke which secured him cult status.
His season looked to have come to an abrupt end after breaking his metatarsal whilst playing for Japan in this year’s Asian Cup. However, after intensive treatment the youngster was able to feature in the last game of the season for the newly crowned champions.
Given the manner in which he has taken the Bundesliga by storm this season it seems almost unbelievable that Kagawa failed to make Japan’s World Cup squad last year. Of course with a stellar career ahead he looks a dead cert for 2014’s tournament in Brazil.
The 22-year-old has been linked Manchester United and Dortmund will be keen to hold on to the player who surely is the Bundesliga buy of the season. Kagawa’s definitely one to watch out for in next season’s Champions League.
Mario Götze (Borussia Dortmund)
He is quite simply the jewel in the crown of the new Bundesliga Champions. The 18–year-old Borussia Dortmund man is one of the best teenagers in Europe.
As well as his six league goals Götze has also accumulated an impressive 15 assists; a figure beaten only by Franck Ribery.
Blessed with great technical ability his dribbling, close control, passing and eye for goal are just some of the reasons why he is such a super talent.
He was named player of the tournament at the European Under-17 Championships in 2009 as Germany won the title. He is already part of Jogi Löw’s Germany set-up and since making his debut last November, a goalless draw in Sweden, he has since appeared in all three matches.
When he entered the field as a second half substitute in Oslo, he and fellow debutant Andre Schürrle become the first players to play for the Nationalmannschaft who were born after reunification.
Germany legend Matthias Sammer, who as Technical Director for the DFB (German FA) is responsible for the development of Germany’s youth teams, called him,” One of the best talents we’ve ever had.”
With Lukas Podolski, Thomas Müller and Mesut Özil occupying the three attacking midfield berths it going to be hard for the youngster to get in to the team. Expect him to be an impact sub at Euro 2012.
Nuri Sahin (Borussia Dortmund)
The Turkish international has formed a fantastic partnership with Sven Bender in the heart of the Dortmund midfield. Bender rarely crosses the half-way line allowing Sahin to make the most of his vision and passing ability. Operating as a deep-lying playmaker Sahin adds to the creativity provided by Mario Götze and Kevin Groβkreutz.
Although still only 22 years of age Sahin has already played over 100 Bundesliga games for die Schwarzgelben. As well as his six Bundesliga goals this season Sahin also has eight assists.
The midfielder’s form has not gone unnoticed, indeed Jafter much speculation Sahin announced last week that he had signed a six year deal with Real Madrid, in a deal thought to have cost the Spanish giants a mere €6m. I so doing Sahin follows Mesut Özil and Sami Khedira in swapping the Bundesliga for La Liga at a young age – whether he has a similar impact remains to be seen.
Sven Bender (Borussia Dortmund)
Nicknamed ‘the vacuum’ for his ability to quickly close down free space, Bender has played a major in Dortmund’s quest for the Bundesliga title. The defensive midfielder was not expected to be a regular starter this season but with Dortmund captain Sebastian Kehl getting injured at the start of the campaign the former has ended up making more than 25 appearances in the league alone.
So impressive has been the form of Bender that when Kehl does return to full fitness he will have to be content with a place on the bench.
The former 1860 Munich man was given his Germany debut recently and is now aiming to become a starter in Jogi Löw’s side. The 21-year-old however, faces stiff competition for a place in the team as Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira are Jogi Löw’s first choice partnership after they excelled together at last summer’s World Cup.
Toni Kroos was the back-up No.6 in South Africa but Bender has a completely different style of play to the Bayern player. The technically gifted Kroos is a playmaker by trade and who only got moved further back during the World Cup. Bender is a more natural choice as he is better at tackling and more disciplined when the opposition are on the ball.
Oliver Baumann (Freiburg)
Manuel Neuer and Roman Weidenfeller aside, Baumann has been the best goalkeeper in Germany this season. The Freiburg shot stopper is one of the main reasons why the team from the Black Forest have spent much of the season contesting for a place in the Europa League.
His agility and sharp reflexes have seen him keep eight clean sheets this season Freiburg coach Robin Dutt has described him as “a great goalkeeping talent” and it would not be a surprise to see the 20-year-old move to one of the bigger Bundesliga clubs come the end of the season.
The Germany Under-21 goalkeeper will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Manuel Neuer by making the step up to the senior squad. As Schalke look for a replacement for Neuer they could make worse decisions this summer than look at the Freiburg shot stopper.
Andre Schürrle (Mainz)
This is only Andre Schürrle’s second season in professional football but he is now part of the Germany squad which boast striking talents such as Miroslav Klose and Mario Gomez. Schürrle’s goals have been important to a Mainz team who finished the season in fifth place and now face the prospect of playing European football at the Stadion am Bruchweg next term. The pacy forward finished the season with 14 goals to his name and made his Germany debut last November against Sweden.
Schürrle was one of Germany’s better performers in Germany’s last match, a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Australia. He linked up well with Thomas Müller and set-up Gomez’s first half strike.
The 20-year-old’s form has not only come to the attention of Jogi Löw but also of Bayer Leverkusen who have agreed to sign him in the summer. Next season promises to be an exciting one for the youngster who will be playing in the Champions League and then possibly at Euro 2012.
Neven Subotic (Borussia Dortmund)
Dortmund’s rock solid defence has been paramount to their success this season with Subotic playing a major role. The Serbian international has formed a fine defensive shield along with fellow centre-back Mats Hummels.
The 22-year-old always looks comfortable when he plays, never rushed when in possession. The imposing defender is a good tackler and wins almost every aerial challenge he contests.
His impressive form has seen him linked with a move to the Premier League with Chelsea, Arsenal and both Manchester clubs all keeping a close eye on him.
Subotic plays alongside Nemanja Vidic for Serbia and it would not be a suprise to see him end up at Old Trafford at some point.
Marco Reus (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
With Gladbach currently second bottom of the Bundesliga the only positive note of the campaign has been the continued progress of Reus. The attacking midfielder, who was linked with a move to Borussia Dortmund earlier in the campaign, was recently being talked about as a summer signing for Bayern Munich.
The Bavarians have sent scouts to Borussia Park on numerous occasions this season and they would have been impressed by the 21-year-olds performances in a poor Gladbach team.
The Germany Under-21 international has nine goals and nine assists in the 30 league games he has played in this season. The versatile attacker is dangerous when running at defenders and processes a dangerous shot.
With Gladbach likely to be relegated Reus will be sold for around €8.5 million as his current deal does not expire until 2015.
Lewis Holtby (Mainz – on loan from Schalke)
The on loan Mainz midfielder is one of a number of young playmakers Germany have produced in recent year. Holtby’s creativity and Andre Schürrle’s goals have been the main reason that the unfashionable club from the Rhineland have exceeded expectations this season.
Mainz would love to keep the 20-year-old but with Schalke struggling this season and in obvious need of a No.10 Holtby will return to Gelsenkirchen in the summer.
The Gemany Under-21 captain made his senior debut for Jogi Löw’s side in November’s goalless draw in Sweden. He has since returned to the Under-21s but is definitely one for the future. There had been doubts regarding his international future as he also qualifies to play for England through his father.
Holtby, a lifelong Everton fan, has only appeared in a friendly match meaning he can still play for The Three Lions. The DFB will be keen for Löw to pick him for a competitive soon to avoid another Jermaine Jones situation. The Blackburn Rovers man played a handful of friendly matches for Germany but now represents the USA.