Mittelstädt reflects on journey to the top: "Nobody expected this a year ago."

Confirmed by none other than the musician responsible for Germany's new Euro 2024 goal song early this week, Maximilian Mittelstädt has offered up comments on his wild and crazy year whilst speaking about his DFB squad nomination on Thursday. The 27-year-old wasn't even a regular starter for relegated Hertha BSC last season. Mittelstädt was available to any top-tier side via a low-value relegation release clause in his contract with the Berliners.

After being repeatedly linked with a move to SV Werder Bremen, Mittelstädt opted to join then relegation-playoff winners VfB Stuttgart instead. Some reports suggest that Stuttgart paid as little as €500,000 for the former German youth international. Mittelstädt didn't crack VfB trainer Sebastian Hoeneß' XI until match-day eight of the current campaign. He didn't truly begin to thrive until match-day 12 in late November.

Now the German national team's projected starting fullback, Mittelstädt noted that his improbably journey to the top over the course of the last 12 months "felt surreal" when speaking on his nomination Thursday. The Berlin-native has pulled his estimated market worth from a personal career nadir of €2 million last May back up to his personal career peak (€14 million) back in 2019. 

"A year ago, nobody would have expected it to be a year like this," Mittelstädt said, "I've nonetheless always believed in myself and I'm extremely proud and happy to have made this journey. I was trusted here at VfB from day one."