German Footballers
A question I was asked recently was (paraphrasing) "who is the most well-known German football player at the moment?". This was from someone who follows football, but was unfamiliar with Germany (and the Bundesliga), and referred to players who are currently still active at either (or both) club or country level, in terms of international recognition.
When I thought about it I realised I really didn't know. My initial instinct was to say Schweinsteiger, Lahm or Özil, but then I wondered if that was just my own perception. I used to think that Klose was fairly well known, but have often been surprised at how many people didn't recognise his name (although after some description of his goal-scoring ways, they tend to know who he is).
A couple of years ago (or even one year ago) it would've been easier - most likely Kahn or Ballack, but Kahn's not 'currently active', and Ballack appears to be fading from the radar. German football has been moving away from 'superstars' for a while now, so despite all the 'rising stars', I can't really think of any ONE player who's particularly well-known on the international stage.
Just to note: I'm not saying the move from 'star player' to 'team dynamic' is a bad thing; quite the opposite in fact. After all football is a team sport, and sometimes the hype surrounding a player can get tiresome (ugh, England). But say if you had to choose one player to represent Germany (e.g. as an ambassador for the sport, or for some sort of campaign), who would you choose, if recognition important?
When I thought about it I realised I really didn't know. My initial instinct was to say Schweinsteiger, Lahm or Özil, but then I wondered if that was just my own perception. I used to think that Klose was fairly well known, but have often been surprised at how many people didn't recognise his name (although after some description of his goal-scoring ways, they tend to know who he is).
A couple of years ago (or even one year ago) it would've been easier - most likely Kahn or Ballack, but Kahn's not 'currently active', and Ballack appears to be fading from the radar. German football has been moving away from 'superstars' for a while now, so despite all the 'rising stars', I can't really think of any ONE player who's particularly well-known on the international stage.
Just to note: I'm not saying the move from 'star player' to 'team dynamic' is a bad thing; quite the opposite in fact. After all football is a team sport, and sometimes the hype surrounding a player can get tiresome (ugh, England). But say if you had to choose one player to represent Germany (e.g. as an ambassador for the sport, or for some sort of campaign), who would you choose, if recognition important?