Bundesliga News

The Bundesliga team of the season so far

By Rune Gjerulff   @runegjerulff

The last Bundesliga match of 2017 has been played so it's time to take a look at the players who have been most impressive during the season.
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Now that the first half of the Bundesliga season is over, Bulinews.com takes a look at the players that have impressed the most this far.


The Bundesliga team of the season so far (4-4-2):

Goalkeeper: Jiri Pavlenka, Werder Bremen
Bremen has had a difficult season, but it could have been even worse if it wasn't for Jiri Pavlenka's many saves. Werder have been lacking a good keeper for years, but now finally seems to have found one in 25-year-old Pavlenka who joined the club from Slavia Prague in the summer.

Right-back: Joshua Kimmich, Bayern München
After Philipp Lahm stopped his career in the summer, Kimmich has been installed at Bayern's right back position. Replacing the legendary Lahm isn't exactly an easy task, but 22-year-old Kimmich has done extremely well so far.

Centre-back: Mats Hummels, Bayern München
Hummels has been a rock at the back of a Bayern defense that has only conceded 11 goals. The clever defender has radiated experience and safety.

Centre-back: Naldo, Schalke 04
The Brazilian has turned 35, but is still performing at a very high level. Big, strong, great at bringing the ball forward and a big goal threat as always. Scored some important last minute goals as he made it 4-4 against Dortmund in the Revierderby and 2-2 versus Frankfurt in the last round.


Left-back: Philipp Max, Augsburg
A highly impressive first half of the season from the 24-year-old Augsburg defender who has set up no less than 10 goals so far. That makes him the player with the most assists in the Bundesliga by far.

Right midfield: Marcel Sabitzer, RB Leipzig
As RB Leipzig coach Ralph Hassenhüttl recently said, Sabitzer is a very important player for the team, not only because of his abilities with the ball, but also because of his mentality. The Austrian winger is never afraid to take responsibility and radiates a strong will to win. He has been sorely missed since he injured his shoulder in November.

Centre midfield: Lars Bender, Bayer 04 Leverkusen
The defensive midfielder has been a jack-of-all-trades for Leverkusen this season as he has sometimes been played at centre-back as well as right-back. But no matter where he has played, he has done well. A very consistent first half of the season from Bender who is an important man for Leverkusen.

Centre midfield: Arturo Vidal, Bayern München
The Chilean box-to-box midfielder usually adds a lot to the Bayern side when he's playing. He wins a lot of balls in the midfield, but is also dangerous further forward. With five goals, he's the second most scoring Bayern player in he Bundesliga so far.

Left midfield: Leon Bailey, Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Wow – what a player! The 20-year-old winger started the season as a substitute, but it didn't take long before he clinched a spot in the starting eleven. A huge breakthrough from the young Jamaican winger who has scored six goals in 14 matches. He has arguably been the best player of the Bundesliga so far – and definitely the most entertaining one.

Striker: Robert Lewandowski, Bayern München
As always, the Polish world-class striker has been scoring for fun. With 15 goals – more than 40 percent of Bayern's total goals – he's leading the topscorer list, and it would come as a surprise if he doesn't keep that position until the season ends next year.

Striker: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Borussia Dormund
The lightning quick Gabonese striker started extremely brightly with 10 goals in the first eight matches, but when Peter Bosz's team faced problems, Aubameyang also did. However, with 13 goals, he still deserves a spot in the team.


Honorable mentions:
Koen Casteels, Wolfsburg
Salif Sané, Hannover 96
Willi Orban, RB Leipzig
Leon Goretzka, Schalke 04
Naby Keita, RB Leipzig
Michael Gregoritsch, Augsburg
Daniel Caligiuri, Schalke 04
Arjen Robben, RB Leipzig
Kevin Volland, Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Timo Werner, RB Lepzig
Alfred Finnbogason, Augsburg


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