Müller on new teammate Führich: "Surprised he hasn't caught on much sooner."
German footballing legend Thomas Müller admitted to some consternation upon playing alongside new teammate Chris Führich on the German national team training pitch.
The time is nearly at hand for certain German footballing native from the German footballing hotbed of Castrop-Rauxel. Twenty-five-year-old VfB Stuttgart attacker Chris Führich once cycled through many of the major footballing academies of his native North-Rhine Westphalia. Führich ultimately failed to catch on at Schalke, Dortmund, Bochum, and even Rot-Weiß Oberhausen. Only at Köln - at the age of 20 - did the current German national team attacker finally get his professional debut.
Führich (alongside 1. FC Union Berlin striker Kevin Behrens) is one of two players called up to the German national team by newly appointed Bundestrainer Julian Nagelsmann who have never even once represented the Bundesrepublik at youth level. The two late bloomers worked alongside their more experienced colleagues at the team's training camp in Foxborough, Massachusetts this week. Speaking to reporters at a Friday media round, Germany's current most-capped player Thomas Müller commented on Führich's presence.
"I have to ask him about his career thus far," the 132-times-capped Müller said of his new teammate, "because a player with such creativity, agility, and shooting technique is only just now showing his potential on a regular basis in his mid 20s with Stuttgart."
"I'm surprised that a player like Chris Führich hasn't made the leap into the limelight much sooner," Müller added.
Führich joined Stuttgart from Paderborn ahead of the 2021/22 season, then immediately had to contend with a long spell on the sidelines after fracturing his collarbone. Führich did manage to net three league goals and register two assists once he returned to the pitch during his initial season in Swabia. His sophomore campaign with the VfB featured slight improvement, with five league goals to add to two assists.
Führich's numbers in the current young campaign (two goals and five assists) demonstrate marked improvement. Beyond the scoresheet, the nimble and spry Westphalian has done a lot of important work drawing coverage and clearing attacking lanes for surprise Bundesliga sensation Serhou Guirassy. With so many intangibles on offer, Nagelsmann simply couldn't resist giving him a look.
The player himself kept comments brief.
"I didn't really have all that much in mind," Führich said of his time in Foxborough, "I didn't expect all that much. I was just looking forward to being here."