'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
#3 Erik Durm
Durm graduated from the ranks of FC Reischweiler, a feeder club for the giants of the Ruhr Valley – Dortmund and Schalke. He was sold to Mainz at the age of 18, where appearing for their reserve team, Durm scored 13 goals in his second season in the Western League. This prompted a move from Dortmund in 2012, who signed him as a striker. Still too raw to feature in their first team, Durm played in the third tier of German football in Dortmund’s reserve team, but the goals dried up.
It was in the following season that Durm had the breakthrough of his career. Dortmund had one of their worst injury crises in the beginning of the 2013-14 season, with the entire backline of Lucasz Piszczek, Neven Subotic, Mats Hummels and Marcel Schmelzer injured. Klopp evidently saw something in Durm’s game that prompted him to shift Durm to the left back position. The rest, as they say, is history.
Durm put in such strong showings at his new position that season that he made 7 appearances in various friendlies in 2014 and edged out competition from various other German full backs, including the injury-plagued Schmelzer, to feature in Germany’s provisional 30-man, and eventually the final 23-man squad for the World Cup.
Although he did not feature in any of Germany’s games, warming the benches, it represents a great success for a player who was thought of as Lewandowski’s eventual replacement at just the start of the season. Now predominantly a left back, Durm has appeared in most of Dortmund’s games this season.
