Italy have their defenders, Brazil their full-backs and Argentina their forwards – Germany, meanwhile, claim the midfield as their dominion. From Wolfgang Overath and Stefan Effenberg to Bastian Schweinstieger and Toni Kroos, the centre of the pitch has long been a prosperous hunting ground for the Germans.

Following the massive youth program reboot early into the turn of the new millennium, the DFB and professional football clubs all contributed financially to this relaunch of scouting and coaching, with a substantial network of academies established to reach even the most remote, often neglected, areas of the country.

Just a few years after their fourth World Cup triumph, Germany reaffirmed their stranglehold on being the best international team on the planet with a sensational summer of football. With a weakened squad, the Germans claimed the U21 European Championship under Stefan Kuntz, whilst an experimental first-team side stormed the nation to their first ever Confederations Cup title.

Consequently, a conveyor belt of endless talent has been reeled in, putting Germany lightyears ahead of its competitors by securing its future. While the likes of Leroy Sané, Joshua Kimmich, Emre Can and Julian Weigl are on the lips more than most, there are those who often go unappreciated, but none more so than Leon Goretzka of FC Schalke 04.

After strong, effervescent performances with the youth sides, Goretzka was quickly snapped from 2. Bundesliga outfit VfL Bochum – who have produced many talents like İlkay Gündoğan and Joël Matip – by Schalke in the summer of 2013.

Match Enforcer

Early into his career with the Gelsenkirchen giants, Goretzka was immediately deployed into an array of positions, under the reign of then manager Jens Keller, despite excelling in midfield at all levels with Bochum.

The 22-year-old already possesses a skillset beyond his peers. Standing at an imposing 6ft2, Goretzka has a dominant presence in a midfield that has been severely deprived of muscle for years, as Schalke continue to disappoint in the Bundesliga.

Continuing to impress on all fronts, Goretzka has proven himself to be an adept box-to-box midfielder, often influencing matches on his own. The Bochum-born maestro is aggressive in his defensive duties, with an average of 2.2 tackles and 2.6 interceptions per game [WhoScored] in the Bundesliga season of 2016/17. Such boastful statistics only epitomise how enthusiastic Goretzka is in partaking in the ugly side of the game, with his penchant for getting ‘stuck in’ a rare trait nowadays. Moreover, his tactical reading of the game is off the charts, with a keen eye for disrupting opponents’ flow patterns and increasing turnovers.

Despite playing in the holding midfield role for most of his career, Goretzka has upped his game in the attacking sense. Following the sale of the ball-playing Joël Matip to Liverpool FC, the German international has been forced to drop back further and collect the ball from deep and surge forward, freeing up space for his teammates.

While not as gifted at dribbling as those around him, his off-the-ball movement is impeccable – in the Confederations Cup semi-final win over Mexico, Goretzka timed his run into the edge of the box perfectly, before pulling off a smart finish to open the scoring. Indeed, just minutes later, the lead was doubled as Goretzka, one step ahead, punished a static Mexican defence and midfield with a scything run to latch onto Timo Werner’s though ball.

Understandably, Goretzka has been likened to ex-Germany captain Michael Ballack from an early age, for his industrious nature befitting that of someone having lived their entire life in the Ruhrpott. With his current club, the Schalker has sometimes been pushed higher up the pitch, due to the ineffectiveness of Max Meyer, and an increase in personnel behind him. However, this has only motivated Goretzka, who continues to impress in attack, attempting an average of 1.7 shots per league match, and almost doubling that in the recent Europa League campaign of last [WhoScored].

On occasion, Goretzka has featured on the right flank, where he performed better than expected, to which his impressive tally of 8 goals and 4 assists last season can be partially owed. Couple the priceless versatility of being able to play throughout the spine of the midfield with a sky-high stamina, and it’s not difficult to see why this young midfielder has much to offer.

Indefatigable Mentality

Mental strength – it’s a vital trait for all athletes of all ages to possess, in order to succeed in their specialised fields. While many young players are often timid and shy in their early days at senior level, Goretzka arrived at Schalke determined to show the more seasoned players who’s boss. In light of another underwhelming season, Goretzka took matters into his own hands and tried to motivate his teammates. The academy players didn’t escape his positive criticism, either, telling them to be more bold and confident in their abilities.

Despite sustaining a horrific and recurring thigh injury that resulted in missing almost all of the 2014/15 season, the utilityman worked harder than ever to return to fitness. In an interview with German magazine ’11 Freunde’, Goretzka revealed he had made a radical change to his diet: “I changed a few things, and, as a result, I have fewer issues with my health – I completely changed what I eat. Since I’ve stopped eating gluten, cow’s milk, pork and nuts, I can recover from a game much quicker.”

A strong believer of ‘you get what you put in’, Goretzka is quoted to have said, “If you make it at Schalke, it shows that you have a certain mental strength.”

Conclusion

Undoubtedly a gifted and mature player, Leon Goretzka has a colossal future ahead of him. One of the few positives from yet another poor season at Schalke, the midfielder proved he has what it takes to galvanise a broken side to picking themselves up to fight.

His desire to improve and adapt, on and off the pitch, is nothing short of breathtaking. Coming back from a potentially career-damaging injury and reforming a diet takes strong mettle, especially at such a youthful age.

The ability to put in such impressive performances in different areas of the pitch speaks volumes of Goretzka’s professional maturity, whilst an eye-catching Confederations Cup tournament will have made the possibility of getting on the World Cup ticket a distinct possibility.

Throw all these things together and it’s clear to see why Goretzka is starting to gain interest from several of Europe’s top clubs.