Wednesday 14 September 2011

The Next Generation German



Andre Schurrle is already a landmark footballer. Along with Borussia Dortmund's Mario Gotze he became the first footballer to appear for the German national team born into a reunified Germany. This historic appearance came in November of 2010, and since then Schurrle's stock has continued to rise.

His first international cap arrived in the same season for which he achieved his most prolific club form to date, scoring 15 goals in 34 appearances for Mainz 05 in the 2010-11 Bundesliga. This tally also meant Schurrle had surpassed Mohamed Zidan's record of 14 goals, hit in 2006-7, as Mainz' highest topflight goalscorer in a single season. His impressive form forced the hand of last year's Bundesliga runners up Bayer Leverkusen, who promptly agreed an 8 million euro fee for the young forward.

Operating predominantly as a second striker or out wide due to his electric pace, Schurrle is an intimidating prospect for opposition defenders when in full flight. To compliment his pace Schurrle possesses a natural dribbling ability, which he utilises at high speed and can also call upon a variety of neat tricks and flicks to beat his man. Despite his tender age, he is 21 in November, his maturity in choosing when to appropriately open his box of tricks is clear to see. Leverkusen's decision to award him the number 9 shirt for the current campaign elicits his wiry frame and height of just over six foot which makes him an even more imposing presence to a full back or central defender.

His ability has quickly been recognised by Germany manager Joachim Low, who has already given Schurrle 8 outings for Die Mannschaft. Schurrle has more than returned the favour by scoring four goals in his 8 caps; netting in the friendly wins against Brazil and Uruguay, but even more importantly in key qualifiers for Euro 2012 against Azerbaijan and Austria respectively.

As of yet he has failed to open his account for new club Leverkusen in 5 appearances, but his undeniable potential is evident and he can also call upon the stage of the Champions League as a springboard for his progression. He started in Leverkusen's first European outing in a left wing role at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea, at which I witnessed an impressive debut in the competition. The goals will soon come.
Read more ...