Top 10 German Players

Germany have produced many great players over the years and they still are today because of how good their youth system is.

I know I wrote a few weeks back that France might have the best youth system, but Germany are right up there as they produce talented young players almost every year.

But despite this, the national team have been disappointing at recent tournaments whether that be down to the manager, the team reaching the end of a cycle or the players not being the right calibre.

Their U21 team reached the final of the Euros in the summer which offers some hope for the future and the majority of that team will be looking to make the step up into the senior side with one or two of them already earning their first senior caps including Nick Woltemade.

Woltemade was the top goal scorer at those finals and has made a bright start at Newcastle after completing his move there off the back of those finals.

If this was the top ten German players of all-time, the likes of Franz Beckenbauer, Lothar Matthaus and Gerd Muller would've been on the list but as it's the top 10 German players of the modern era, I've had to leave them out.

Now here is the list:

Thomas Muller

Toni Kroos

Bastian Schweinsteiger

Philipp Lahm

Mats Hummels

Miroslav Klose

Mesut Ozil

Manuel Neuer

Lukas Podolski

Mario Gomez

10. Lukas Podolski

Podolski was one of the most exciting young talents during the early years of his career and was a very good player on his day as he could play anywhere across the front line and score goals.

But he never fulfilled his potential as he didn't deliver enough when playing for a big club and wasn't consistent enough throughout his career.

He had a brilliant record for Germany though as he scored 49 goals for the national team and was a key player for them in most of the major tournaments he played in.

He was the best young player at the 2006 World Cup where he scored 3 goals, he finished second in the goal charts with 3 goals as Germany reached the final of Euro 2008 and was part of the side that won the 2014 World Cup.

He is incredibly still playing at the age of 40 for a Polish side called Gornik Zabrze.

9. Mario Gomez

There was a brief time where Gomez was one of the best strikers in Europe and it was during the early 2010's when he was at Bayern Munich.

He won the Bundesliga Golden Boot during the 2010/11 season with 28 goals before bagging 26 the following season where he would go on to bag 41 in all competitions.

He was no longer in that world class bracket in the years that followed as he struggled to replicate that form and moved to clubs where he couldn't get back onto that level.

But he was still a top class finisher on his day as he was good in the air, could score a variety of goals and was always in the right place at the right time to score goals.

8. Mesut Ozil

Ozil was one of the most gifted players of his generation and an incredible player to watch on his day as he was a brilliant carrier of the ball, skilful and could play any kind of pass with both the inside and outside of his boot.

He was right up there among the best midfielders in Europe when he was at Real Madrid because of the creativity he provided and the number of assists he got in each of his three seasons there.

But at Arsenal he didn't show off his abilities enough as he would have one or two games where he would be brilliant and other games where he would barely be involved or show nothing.

He was one of those players who played better with better players around him because the players he had around him at Arsenal were not on his level unlike the players he had around him at Madrid and also for Germany.

He always performed whenever he played for the national team as he was a key part of that side that won the 2014 World Cup and reached the semi finals in three of the other four tournaments under Joachim Low.

7. Miroslav Klose

Klose is currently the record goal scorer for the national team with 71 goals and is also the record goal scorer at the World Cup with 16 goals.

He's one of those players who had a better international career than club career in that he got more recognition for Germany because of his goal record for them.

He was a clinical striker at club level, but his best goal returns came with smaller teams like Werder Bremen and Kaiserlautern.

The only big club he played for was Bayern Munich where his Bundesliga numbers were not as high as the numbers he hit for his previous clubs. He did hit over 20 goals in each of his first two seasons at Bayern in all competitions, but he only got 10 of them in the Bundesliga.

He was an out and out no.9 on his day as he was good in the air, strong, his movement was first class and could score a variety of goals.

6. Mats Hummels

Hummels was right up there among the best central defenders in Europe on his day as he was good in the air, comfortable with the ball at his feet and also a brilliant reader of the game as he timed a lot of his challenges to perfection.

He was one of the very few players to have two spells with both Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund and it was his first spell at Dortmund where he had the best years of his career.

He was an integral part of the Dortmund that won those back-to-back Bundesliga titles and reached the Champions League final in 2013 under Jurgen Klopp through his solid performances and leadership at the back.

He was also an integral part of the Germany side that won the 2014 World Cup where he was named in the Team of the Tournament.

5. Bastian Schweinsteiger

Schweinsteiger was one of the best midfielders of his generation as he had lots of energy, was a brilliant passer of the ball and was versatile in that he could play both out wide and centrally.

He also had a powerful shot on him and especially from long range as his shots were hit with such power that keepers would struggle to keep the ball out.

He won everything on offer during his long spell at Bayern Munich including eight Bundesliga titles, seven German Cups and the Champions League in 2013.

He played a key role in every success he achieved at Bayern and was also an integral part of the Germany side that won the 2014 World Cup.

4. Thomas Muller

Muller left Bayern Munich in the summer following a largely successful 17 seasons during which he scored and providing a lot of goals and everything on offer multiple times.

He won 13 Bundesliga titles, 6 German Cup's and two Champions League which were both part of a treble in 2013 and 2020 respectively.

He was a good all-round attacking player during his time at Bayern as he was versatile in that he could play anywhere across the frontline including out wide, as a centre forward and as a no.10 which is his favoured position, and could both create and score goals.

He played a key role in almost every single success he achieved at Bayern and was also an integral part of the Germany side under Joachim Low that won the 2014 World Cup.

He scored 5 goals at that tournament including a hat trick against Portugal and was the joint top scorer four years prior in 2010 scoring 5 goals as Germany finished third.

3. Manuel Neuer

Neuer for me is the greatest goalkeeper of all-time because he was both an excellent shot-stopper and brilliant with with the ball at his feet.

He changed the role of a keeper by being able to use his feet and come out of his box to clear the ball up the pitch acting as a sweeper keeper.

He was one of if not the best keeper in the world for a number of years because of his incredible shot-stopping abilities and excellent distribution which put him apart from the other keepers.

Goalkeepers never get ranked as highly as third in any top ten, but Neuer had to be in this one because of the keeper he was and the career he had.

He's won everything on offer multiple times with Bayern Munich including 12 Bundesliga titles, 5 German Cups and two Champions League's and he played a key role in every single success.

He was also an integral part of the Germany side that won the 2014 World Cup where his performances throughout the tournament won him the golden glove before going on to finish 3rd in the Ballon D'or behind Ronaldo and Messi.

2. Toni Kroos

Kroos was one of the finest passers of the ball you'll ever see because of his vision to pick out any any kind of pass from almost anywhere on the pitch.

He was also a brilliant set piece taker from both corners and free kicks because of how good a crosser of the ball he was and how accurate his deliveries were.

He won everything on offer in the game at club level including three Bundesliga titles and three German Cups with Bayern Munich, four La Liga titles and the 2023 Copa Del Rey with Real Madrid and six Champions League with one coming at Bayern and the other five coming at Real.

He also won the 2014 World Cup with the national team and was key part of that triumph as well as he was later named in the team of the tournament.

1. Philipp Lahm

Picking a winner of this top 10 was tough, but if I was to give the no.1 spot to someone it had to be Lahm because of his all-round game and the consistency he showed right throughout his career.

He was one of the greatest full backs of his generation and maybe even the greatest right back of all-time because of how good he was both defensively and offensively.

Defensively he always timed his challenges well and was in the right place at the right time to make them whilst offensively he was an excellent crosser of the ball, was quick and even loved to take the odd shot at goal from distance.

He was also a leader and his leadership played a key role in the national team winning the World Cup in 2014 and every success he achieved during his long trophy laden spell at Bayern Munich.

He was the player that changed the role of a full back by being able to move into midfield and he even played as a midfielder at times when Pep Guardiola was his manager at Bayern.

MY TOP 10:

1. Philipp Lahm

2. Toni Kroos

3. Manuel Neuer

4. Thomas Muller

5. Bastian Schweinsteiger

6. Mats Hummels

7. Miroslav Klose

8. Mesut Ozil

9. Mario Gomez

10. Lukas Podolski