Bundesliga Top 10 Midfielders of all time

Published on

Bundesliga has featured many world-class players over the years. Since its inauguration, the league has attracted many top talents in midfield especially attack-minded players whose stamina and prowess has left many awed.

Coming up with the top 10 players in a field that is dominated by exceptional players has always posed a challenge. However, there are those who have exhibited incredible performance. Here is the list of the exemplary midfielders in Bundesliga’s history.

Felix Magath was an attacking midfielder who won three Bundesliga titles and the 1982–83 European Cup10.) Felix Magath

Country: West Germany
Years Active: 1960 - 1986

The most notable spell during his professional football career was with Hamburg SV, where he won the European Cup title in 1982-83 edition and 3 titles in Bundesliga. Besides, he reached the FIFA World Cup finals for two consecutive periods and won 43 International Cups for his national team. Also worth noting is that during his managerial tenure, Bayern Munich managed to defend the Bundesliga’s title for two consecutive seasons.

Franck Ribery won four Bundesliga titles, four DFB-Pokal, one UEFA Champions League and one FIFA Club World Cup9.) Franck Ribery

Country: France
Years Active: 1989 - to date

Franck Ribery is a French Footballer, who plays in the Bundesliga for Bayern Munich. His precise passing skill and energy as a winger has made him stand out. Franck made his first competitive debut for Bayern on July 2007 against Werder Bremen where he scored twice and assisted in another goal enabling a 4-1 victory. His exceptional performance since then has seen Bayern dominate as the defending champions in Bundesliga for many decades.

Bastian Schweinsteiger spent 13 seasons at Bayern Munich and won eight Bundesliga titles with the club8.) Bastian Schweinsteiger

Country: West Germany
Years Active: 1990 - to date

Bastian is an elite German footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Manchester United and Germany National team. During his 13 seasons’ tenure in Bayern Munich, he participated in 500 matches and scored 67 goals. He received various honors that include the 2 DFB- LigaPokals, 7 DFB-Pokal titles, a UEFA Champions League title, a World Cup title and 8 Bundesliga’s titles. He has also won 100 International Caps for Germany and scored 23 goals.

Mehmet Scholl was one of the Bundesliga's most successful players, winning the championship eight times7.) Mehmet Scholl

Country: West Germany
Years Active: 1976 - 2007

During his professional football career, Mehmet played as an attacking midfielder for Bayern Munich. His contribution during the 1996 UEFA Champions League made him shine. His incredible performance during his active years with Bayern earned him many Bundesliga’s titles as well as 8 German Championship titles and UEFA Champions League title in 2001.

Andreas Moller was known for his range of passing, creativity, vision, and technical ability6.) Andreas Moller

Country: West Germany
Years Active: 1973 - 2004

Andreas is one of the few legends in the German football history to have never played for Bayern Munich. He was popularly known for his prolific striking in the air that enabled him to be deployed as a supporting striker or a winger at times. He won the DFB-Pokal title 3 times, the 1990 World Cup, the 1996 Euro Cup and 2 Bundesliga titles.

Bernd Schuster won 22 caps for the West German national team5.) Bernd Schuster

Country: West Germany
Years Active: 1971 - 1997

Bernd participated in the 1980 UEFA European Championship where he made two appearances. His stunning performance earned him the Silver Ball trophy honor as the 2nd best European player of the season. Bernd won a total of 22 International Caps for Germany national team but due to disputes he retired from the team at an early age of 24 years. Nonetheless, he held the title as the best midfielder in Spain and won the La Liga title 3 times and Copa del Rey 6 times.

Kevin Keegan was named European Footballer of the Year in 1978 and 1979, won the Bundesliga title in 1978–794.) Kevin Keegan

Country: England
Years Active: 1967 - 1985

Keegan spent only a few years in Bundesliga, but his performance was way above average. His ability to adapt to the Bundesliga speaks volumes. The majority of his English counterparts found it to be extremely difficult. During his short spell in Hamburg SV, he won the Ballon d’Or title in 1978 and 1979 and a year later his team made it to the European Champions League.

Gunter Netzer was considered to be one of the greatest passers in the game's history, voted Footballer of the Year in Germany twice3.) Gunter Netzer

Country: Germany
Years Active: 1952 - 1977

Gunter is renown as one of the best passers in football history. In 1972 and 1973 he was voted as the best player of the year. His phenomenal and tactical way of play saw Germany win at Euro in 1972 and 1974 world cup. Gunter is one of the best midfielders of all time and his long pass and strikes from his half of the pitch made him very popular.

Wolfgang Overath was known for his passing ability, technique and his left-foot, he won the inaugural Bundesliga with 1. FC Köln in 19642.) Wolfgang Overath

Country: Germany
Years Active: 1953 - 1977

Wolfgang is considered as the most loyal midfielder of all time having played for only FC Koln during his entire career. He was renowned for his versatile passing technique and left foot. He made a total of 765 appearances for his club and scored 287 goals. Wolfgang won the 1964 inaugural match in Bundesliga and appeared in the 14 first seasons of the league. Between 1963 and 1974, he won 83 International Caps for Germany team and scored 17 goals.

Lothar Matthaeus is the most capped German player of all time, renowned for his perceptive passing, positional sense, well-timed tackling, as well as powerful shooting1.) Lothar Matthaeus

Country: West Germany
Years Active: 1971 - 2000

Lothar is the most capped player in the German football history who retired with a total of 150 appearances and 23 goals. In 1990, he captained his team to a victory in the FIFA World Cup and was awarded as the European player of the year. In 1991, he was named as the first ever German FIFA player of the year. To date, that record has not been beaten. Lothar is certainly the best midfielder of all time that Bundesliga has ever featured.