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Football

Tokyo Olympics: Men's Football: Top 5 German Bundesliga players at the Olympics

German Bundesliga is home to many of the best football players in the world. Let us look at the top five players from the German league playing at the Olympics.

Dani Olmo
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Dani Olmo, a RB Leipzig and Spain player (Source: RFEF)

By

Siddharth Mishra

Updated: 22 July 2021 8:17 AM GMT

1. Dani Olmo

Age: 23

Position: Attacking midfielder

Club: RB Leipzig

Country: Spain

International caps: 16


Dani Olmo (Source:RFEF)

Catalan boy Dani Olmo spent his early years of formal football at the academies of bitter local rivals Espanyol and Barcelona. However he received an offer that meant he moved out to Croatia to play for Dinamo Zagreb, making his way to the first team while only 17. His style and influence caught the attention of RB Leipzig, whom he joined on a 4-year deal in January 2020, and where he is now a key player in the build-up.

Olmo has also been a part of the Spanish youth sides all the way from the U16s through to the senior side, for whom he first played in 2019. He was very productive in the mid-field for Spain during the recently concluded Euros.

2. Max Kruse

Age: 33

Position: Forward

Club: Union Berlin

Country: Germany

International caps: 4


Max Kruse (Source: Getty Images)

Max Kruse joined his local club as a four-year-old and joined Werder Bremen in 2006 after having spent his time until then in his region. He was unable to make his way to first team football though. After transferring out in 2009, he had several short but successful stints across Germany, as well as a year in Fenerbahçe. He now plays for Union Berlin.

Kruse was fairly influential in his international youth appearances but fell out of favor with the senior team management in 2015. This will be his first appearance for Germany in 6 years.


3.Matheus Cunha

Age: 22

Position: Striker

Club: Hertha Berlin

Country: Brazil

International caps: 0

Matheu Cunha (Source: Ricardo Moreira/Fotoarena/Lancepress)

Matheus Cunha played his early football back home in Brazil and then moved to Switzerland at the age of 18 to join FC Sion. He was prolific in his year here, scoring 10 goals, after which RB Leipzig offered him a 5-year deal. He struggled to establish himself in the first team, however, and joined Hertha Berlin in January 2020 on another long-term deal, and hit the ground running, scoring 12 goals in his 37 appearances so far.

He seems to find himself most at home in the Brazil jersey - in his 19 appearances for the U23s so far, he has netted 18, emerging top scorer in both competitions he has participated in. Brazil will be keen to see this continue as it looks to secure back-to-back gold medals.

4. Wataru Endo

Age: 28

Position: Defensive midfielder

Club: VfB Stuttgart

Country: Japan

International caps: 28

Wataru Endo (Source: AFC Media)

Wataru Endo had a relatively late start to professional football, joining the Shonan Bellmare youth side at 15, and spent his first 7 years at the club as a critical part of the team. He later went to Urawa Red Diamonds in 2016, and after two more seasons, to Sint-Truiden, where he was soon spotted by VfB Stuttgart. He was signed by the club on a loan for a year and impressed mightily, which means he's now rewarded with a deal running till the end of the 2023-2024 season.

Two years after his senior debut, he made his first appearance for Japan U19, and for the U23s soon after. He made his international senior debut at the age of 22, and will hope to guide his side to the medal spots in front of his home crowd.


5. Lucas Tousart

Age: 24

Position: Midfielder

Club: Hertha Berlin

Country: France

International caps: 0


Lucas Tousart (Source: 90 mins)

Lucas Tousart has played most of his football in his home country, being part of several local clubs right from the age of 6. His professional debut came for Ligue 2 side Valenciennes in 2014, after which he got a contract with Olympique Lyonnais. He spent a season in its B side after which he was a mainstay for the team for the following 5 seasons - the last of which he spent on loan after signing for Hertha Berlin. He is now an influential presence for the German club.

He was relatively late to the international youth set-up, playing for the U19s first in 2015, but found himself with the U21s in less than a year. His hard work has been rewarded with his first national call-up for the Olympic games.

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