5 Most Surprising Bundesliga Stars so Far This Season
The 2014-15 Bundesliga campaign has brought many surprises thus far, particularly as some traditional clubs have struggled and underdogs find themselves flying high as of the midseason break.
The surprise of the season thus far is Borussia Dortmund, standing 17th in the table, just two-and-a-half years after winning their second consecutive Bundesliga title. At the other end of the table, perennial favorites Bayern Munich are chased by a revitalized Wolfsburg. Even Augsburg are well in the race for European football next season.
With the surprises in team performance has also come the unexpected in terms of individual quality. B/R has run the rule over all of the top-performing Bundesliga players of the first half of the season, selecting the biggest surprises among them. Click "begin slideshow" to see our picks.
Xabi Alonso
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When Xabi Alonso joined Bayern Munich at the end of August, he was seen as a stopgap measure to give much needed depth to the club's midfield. He quite clearly wasn't a long-planned transfer, coming at the very end of the window, and the club perhaps really regretted selling Toni Kroos to Real Madrid. But with Thiago Alcantara, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Javi Martinez injured, Bayern needed someone like Alonso to provide a touch of class, even if his advanced age made him only a short-term solution.
Since his move to Munich, Alonso has rolled back the years, proving himself as still worthy of the "world-class" label despite having his minutes reduced last campaign and struggling at the World Cup. He's in his environment under manager Pep Guardiola and was an absolutely crucial factor to Bayern's success as they suffered a veritable crisis of injuries in central midfield.
Alonso began to look a bit tired in December, and a muscular injury confirmed he'd been overused. If he is played carefully in the spring, he could well be a key factor in Bayern's bid for a second treble in three years.
Karim Bellarabi
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Not long ago, Karim Bellarabi looked to be the type of player referred to in Germany as an "eternal talent," the kind of player who once showed potential to be something great but never made the all-important step from prospect to star.
The 24-year-old attacker returned to Leverkusen last summer after an unsuccessful loan spell at Braunschweig in which he recorded very modest tallies of three goals and four assists in all professional competitions, and he looked to be a mile away from Joachim Low's Germany squad.
Fast-forwarding to the present, Bellarabi has taken huge strides in his career, rather surprisingly, considering he looked to be a fully mature player even while on loan. He's scored nine goals and given eight assists in all competitions for the Werkself, and in terms of combined goals and assists is only two behind the Bundesliga's best.
Low gave Bellarabi a well-deserved call to his senior national team in October, and the player has made four appearances for his country.
Armed with blistering pace and agility, a soft touch, excellent dribbling skills and creativity, Bellarabi is a real sparkplug. Just months after seeming to have hit a bit of a dead end, he's unexpectedly become a real star.
Felix Wiedwald
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Felix Wiedwald entered the 2014-15 campaign as Frankfurt's back-up goalkeeper, behind one of the Bundesliga's best shot-stoppers in Kevin Trapp.
After the 24-year-old suffered ankle ligament damage in September, the Adler moved to sign free-agent Timo Hildebrand as back-up. Yet, they would soon find that they already had a player on their books who was more than worthy of the role.
Wiedwald replaced the captain Trapp in the game in which he was injured and never looked back. Frankfurt trainer Thomas Schaaf kept his faith in the 24-year-old, who in midseason is rated by German magazine Kicker as the Bundesliga's fourth-best player, according to aggregate player ratings, and he is second best among goalkeepers.
Now, the narrative of Frankfurt goalkeepers is changing, with Frankfurt apparently not so afraid of the possibility of Trapp leaving. The captain will be fit to play later this month, leaving the club with two relatively young, ostensibly qualified goalkeepers vying for one starting role.
Already, Wolfsburg have been linked with a move for Trapp, with Kicker, in their print-only version (h/t German source Sportal), claiming the Wolves are prepared to meet the player's release clause. Most clubs would panic, but with Wiedwald behind the starter, Frankfurt may not be so concerned.
Niklas Sule
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A 19-year-old of undeniable talent heading into the season, it perhaps isn't entirely a surprise that Hoffenheim's Niklas Sule has had such an outstanding season. He was superb at last summer's Under-19 European Championship, which his Germany squad won following a series of dominant displays.
When put into context with his under-19 compatriots, however, and Sule's rise has been surprisingly meteoric. The only other player from Germany's cup winners who has really made an impact in the 1. Bundesliga is Davie Selke, who's impressed intermittently at Werder Bremen.
Sule, by contrast, is rated by Kicker as the joint-fifth-best defensive player in the Bundesliga this term, according to their player ratings. Per statistics by Opta (h/t Goal.com), he is Europe's most effective tackler.
His focus and composure are remarkable for a player of his age, and in terms of ability to win the ball in the air and on the ground, Sule is simply outstanding. It really is a shame that he tore his anterior cruciate ligament shortly before the winter break, effectively spelling an early end to his season. Despite his setback, Sule will surely be back in 2015.
Alexander Meier
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Given all of the talented scorers in the Bundesliga—Robert Lewandowski, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Arjen Robben and Thomas Muller among them—the odds of Alexander Meier being in the lead for the German top flight's Torjager-Kanone (top scorer award) in midseason were very low. Yet with 17 rounds played, the Eintracht Frankfurt forward is comfortably in the lead with 13 strikes to his name. Robben is runner-up with 10.
Meier is no doubt a talented forward and has proven this in the past. Two seasons ago, he finished third in the list of top scorers. But even then, he recorded 16 for the entire season, just three more than he currently has at the halfway point.
At the time, he was still in the physical prime of his career. He'll celebrate his 32nd birthday Saturday. It's a surprise that in his advancing years, he's having the best season of his career.
His story is encouragement to frustrated players that it's not impossible to become one of the most effective stars in the Bundesliga.
