Curated playlist
Bundesliga players
- Horst-Dieter HöttgesBorussia Mönchengladbach let defender Horst-Dieter Höttges go, and he won a Bundesliga title with Werder Bremen.
- Wolfgang OverathWolfgang Overath won World Cup medals of all three kinds and never played for a club besides 1. FC Köln.
- Jürgen GrabowskiJürgen Grabowski's cross set up a last-second equalizer in the 1970 World Cup semi-final. West Germany still lost 4-3.
- Philipp LahmPhilipp Lahm scored in the sixth minute of the 2006 World Cup's opening match. He was 22.
- Gerd MüllerGerd Müller scored 68 goals in 62 games for West Germany. He averaged more than one goal per game for eight years.
- Davor ŠukerDavor Šuker won the 1998 World Cup Golden Boot in Croatia's first World Cup. He scored six goals in seven matches.
- Helmut RahnHelmut Rahn scored the winning goal in the 1954 World Cup final with his weaker left foot.
- Andrés GuardadoAndrés Guardado retired with 180 games for Mexico, more than any player in its history.
- Manuel NeuerManuel Neuer, the German goalkeeper born on the 27th of March 1986, completed 244 passes at the 2014 World Cup. That was more than Lionel Messi, who managed 242, and more than Thomas Müller, who managed 221. Wesley Sneijder also finished…
- Miroslav KloseMiroslav Klose arrived in West Germany at eight knowing only two words of German.
- Sepp MaierA car crash in July 1979 nearly killed goalkeeper Sepp Maier. Doctors first found only a few rib fractures.
- Thomas MüllerThomas Müller calls himself a Raumdeuter, a space interpreter. He lacks pace and dribbling, yet he beats defenders.
- Landon DonovanLandon Donovan scored in the dying seconds to beat Algeria at the 2010 World Cup.
- James RodríguezJames Rodríguez chested down a high ball and volleyed it in at the 2014 World Cup. It won the FIFA Puskás Award.
- Jürgen KlinsmannJürgen Klinsmann scored sixteen goals in one match at age eight. He later lifted a World Cup with West Germany.
- Lukas PodolskiLukas Podolski bought control of Gornik Zabrze, the club he had always supported. He retired the next day.
- Oliver KahnOliver Kahn won the 2002 World Cup's best player award after fumbling a goal in the final.
- Franz BeckenbauerFranz Beckenbauer won the World Cup as a captain, then again as a manager.
- Lothar MatthäusIn the 1986 World Cup final, Lothar Matthäus was assigned to mark Diego Maradona personally.
- Harry KaneArsenal's academy released Harry Kane at eight for being "a bit chubby". He became England's top goalscorer.