Thomas Strunz, a former German national team player and multiple champion with Bayern, took a critical look at the ranking of the best players in the position of defensive midfielder or today’s popular number six in the Bundesliga and concluded that it not only reveals the state of the league, but also a wider, unpleasant truth: the German national team does not have an ideal solution in that position.
Strunz says that this ranking makes him “slightly uncomfortable”, but not because the editors of the magazine Kicker (a German sports weekly) judged the players badly. He sees the problem in the very definition of the position. Namely, he would not have placed some of the football players who the rankings classified as defensive midfielders, looking at their role in the clubs, in that position at all.
He mentions names like Ibrahim Maza, Johan Manzambi, Xaver Schlager and Marcel Sabitzer. According to him, these are players who often act more like central midfielders or midfielders who cover a lot of space, rather than classic defensive midfielders. However, if the “sixes” and part of the “eight” are observed in the same group, to clarify, the “six” is a defensive midfielder in front of the defense, and the “eight” is a central midfielder who is involved in both attack and defense, then such grouping becomes more understandable.
When it comes to the highest level, Strunz is very direct: he doesn’t see a single Bundesliga player in that position who belongs in the world class at the moment. That is why it is logical for him that Joshua Kimmich and Aleix Garcia are at the top of the ranking in the so-called international class. He believes that these are names that correspond to what this position should offer in serious football.
He especially stopped at Felix Nmecha. Although he acknowledges his good moments and contribution, Strunz believes that Nmecha is not yet a player who “stamps” the team on the biggest stage. Two goals in Copenhagen, he says, are not enough to push someone to the top of that position.
According to him, the ideal defensive midfielder is the type of footballer like Rodri, or, in the German example from the past, Bastian Schweinsteiger, a player who sets the rhythm from that zone, calms the game, controls space and tempo. Strunz emphasizes that he doesn’t see that with Nmeche yet, and that he is still perceived more through his presence closer to the attacking part of the game.
In the background of everything is the change of football over the years. The role of the defensive midfielder has changed, it is no longer always the same profile. But Strunz points out that the biggest national teams still have a “different type” of footballers in that position. He also mentions the current world champions from Argentina as an example of a team that filled that position in a way that gives balance to the whole team.
His conclusion is quite sharp: this ranking shows that the German national team has a problem in the position of defensive midfielder. According to him, Kimmich is the best, but in the national team he plays on the right side of the defense. Felix Nmecha and Angelo Stiller are not decisive enough for the team to rely on against their biggest rivals, and behind them the choice is neither wide nor convincing.
Strunz also notes that there are many foreign players in the rankings, which further emphasizes that Germany does not have enough domestic holders in that position in its own championship. By the way, he also mentions that Leon Goretzka, in his opinion, was justified, no longer taken into account in this context.
Strunz’s word still carries weight. He played 235 games in the Bundesliga for Bayern and Stuttgart, with Bayern he was the champion of Germany five times, and he made 41 appearances for the national team. His highlight is the title of European champion in 1996.
That’s why his analysis is not just a passing criticism of a ranking, but a warning: if Germany wants to be a serious contender in the biggest competitions, it must have a player in the position of defensive midfielder who will not only “do the job”, but also lead the game.
