BIOGRAPHY
was interesting to say the least.
Coach Thomas Schneider, who had
taken over from Labbadia, limited himself
to just one short and sharp comment –
“the boy has tremendous speed” – while
fellow Stuttgart striker Vedad Ibisevic
appeared to admonish the youngster
for not passing prior to firing in his
second goal.
Keeping Werner’s feet firmly on the
ground was the order of the day. Hence
the post-match decision to select him
for a spot of heavy lifting, ordering him
to help carry the kit hampers to the bus.
In the media, though, it was an
altogether different story. Tales of
precocious feats sell and up and down
the country, and the pundit community
were in a frenzy.
Not least the
former Bayernequaliser in a 1-1 draw at home to
Eintracht Frankfurt. Usually lining up
on the left wing but with licence to drift
in at every opportunity, he looked every
inch the wunderkind. Not bad for a
schoolboy who took the bus to training.
Early in November he further cranked
up the publicity machine with a brace
in a 3-1 win at local south-west rivals
Freiburg. Both his goals were sterling solo
efforts, with defenders left flummoxed
and helpless as he put his hurricane
pace, quick feet and deadly finishing
touch to explosive use. The first 17-
year-old to score two goals in a single
Bundesliga game he had the air of a
“made in Germany” Lionel Messi.
The reaction of some of his team-
mates and the Stuttgart hierarchy to
his Freiburg
masterclass
TimelineNOV 9, 2010
Scores a hat-trick
on his debut for
Germany under-15s
in a 5-1 win against
Poland.MAY 16, 2012
Scores his spot-kick
as Germany lose
to Holland on
penalties in the
Euro Under-17 Final.AUG 1, 2013
Appears against
Botev Plovdiv in the
Europa League and
becomes Stuttgart’s
youngest-ever player,
at 17 years, four
months and 25 days.AUG 17, 2013
Plays in the
Bundesliga for the
first time, in a 1-0
loss at home to
Bayer Leverkusen.Flying...his career
really took off after
moving to RB LeipzigFuture star...celebrating a goal against Portugal for Germany’s under-15s“Maybe he’ll be at the [2014] World
Cup...other countries simply do not
have such players”
Mehmet Scholl