When Moritz Nicolas was bumbling around the German lower leagues (as a backup) & was on loan in the Dutch 2nd tier at 25, not many would’ve predicted that he’d go on to be the GK with the most PSxG prevented in Europe’s Top-5 leagues.

Massive credit to GK-coach Fabian Otte (who’s now at Liverpool)

Restverteidigung? We don’t do that here

Vasilj today

Lasse Günther:

As the more offensive option, Günther is competing with David Herold for the LB-spot at Karlsruher SC.
A former winger, he possesses great speed (35.5+ km/h) & loves to overlap, in order to provide crosses & cut-backs, but still has a lot to learn tactically & defensively.

13/13

Lukas Ullrich:

Ullrich developed into a real challenger for Luca Netz at Gladbach in recent weeks.
Like Netz, Ullrich is a former Hertha youth academy player who is good going forward.
Intriguingly, in the last couple of games, Ullrich has also shown that he can be trusted defensively.

12/13

Almugera Kabar:

Part of that historic German u17 side, Kabar offers almost ridiculous pace & physicality way beyond his years & is a real battering ram down the left flank, but still has a lot of room to improve tactically, technically & mentally, especially in terms of decision-making.

11/13

David Herold:

The Bayern youth academy product is not the most flashy of players, but offers decent defensive reliability & great stamina (regularly runs 13+ km p90).
Has even been tried as a LCB (in a back-3) a couple of years ago & (with his physique) also has a lot of potential there.

10/13

Luca Netz:

Touted as a huge talent from a very young age, he has somewhat stagnated in recent seasons, as he was not able to transfer his physical superiority to the men's game & struggles defensively, but still can be a dangerous weapon going forward, especially when playing as a Wing-Back.

9/13

Maximilian Hennig:

Currently on loan in the 3rd tier at Unterhaching, the starting LB for that historic German u17 side, Hennig obviously still needs to develop physically, but his agility & smoothness on the ball are a real joy to watch and he never shirks the defensive side of the game.

8/13

Frans Krätzig:

A slight & diminutive midfielder converted to a LB barely 2 years ago, he doesn't have top-level speed or athleticism, but is technically incredibly proficient & hence offers the perfect profile as an inverted LB.
Should look to cut short the Stuttgart-loan & play regularly.

7/13

Max Finkgräfe:

Has unfortunately already struggled with injuries in his young career, but already offers a decent, well-rounded package as a LB.
Especially his dribbling is on a pretty high level, but he also has good pace, stamina, technique, defensive intensity & takes decent set-pieces.

6/13

Nene Brown:

Probably the most intriguing prospect profile-wise. Has the pace (35.5+ km/h) & intensity to get up & down the flank, but also the technique & composure to play in the half-spaces (as an inverted LB). Is slowly starting to establish himself as a starter for high-flying Frankfurt.

5/13

Aaron Zehnter:

Already one of the best crossers in Germany, he has attempted the most open-play crosses in the 2. BL this season (48 in 10 games).
More of a LWB & still needs to work on the defensive side of his game but has 2 goals + 11 assists in 26 games since joining Paderborn in January.

4/13

Tom Rothe:

Great (crossing-)technique, stamina & vision.
Can be a real danger in the opponent's box with his height (1.93m), hence the amount of goal contributions (17 in his last 43 games).
Can work on his defensive positioning but will be a German International sooner rather than later.

3/13

Germany even have guys like Maximilian Hennig (18), Luca Netz (21), David Herold (21), Almugera Kabar (18), Lukas Ullrich (20) and Lasse Günther
(21) playing (somewhat) regular professional football this season.

2/13

Funny how Germany always used to have a problem at LB, yet now they have Tom Rothe (20), Aaron Zehnter (20) & Nene Brown (21) all coming through.

The likes of Max Finkgräfe (20) & Frans Krätzig (21) are also worth a mention.

Here's a bit on Germany's current u21 LBs:

#InternationalBreak

1/13