Who is Maximilian Mittelstadt? The Bundesliga's best left-back set to star at Euro 2024

Tom Weber

Updated: 6 Jun 2024 07:19 CDT
11 min read

Maximilian Mittelstadt, Stuttgart, Germany — © IMAGO

Maximilian Mittelstadt has taken the Bundesliga and now also Germany as a whole by storm.

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The VfB Stuttgart left-back has been in absolutely spectacular form for Germany's biggest surprise packages and the left-back is set to play an outsized role for his country at Euro 2024 on home soil.

There is an argument to be made that Mittelstadt has been the best left-back in Europe this season, but where has he come from and how good is he really?

What position does Mittelstadt play in?

Max Mittelstadt is a tireless left-back.

© IMAGO - Max Mittelstadt after scoring against the Netherlands

How good is Mittelstadt?

Maximilian Mittelstadt is Berlin-born and bred, yet he probably should have left his home town a lot sooner than he did. A product of Hertha BSC's youth academy, Mittelstadt would go on to make 157 appearances for the Old Lady, but in hindsight, he may regret staying on board for as long as he did.

Hertha had been a mess for years, a rudderless ship, which eventually culminated in relegation to the 2. Bundesliga in 2022/23. Only after Hertha's demotion did Mittelstadt decide to jump ship, joining Stuttgart in the summer of 2023 for just €500,000. It turned out to be an absolutely spectacular piece of business.

Head coach Sebastian Hoeneß has built something special at Stuttgart and he has given Mittelstadt a platform to shine. The marauding left-back is ideal for Hoeneß's system and playing in said system has allowed the 27-year-old to thrive. While two goals and four assists in 25 Bundesliga outings is not the kind of incredible production we have seen from Bayer Leverkusen's Alejandro Grimaldo, it would be foolish to ignore Mittelstadt's underlying numbers.

Data analytics firm SciSports believe that Mittelstadt has been the Bundesliga's best full-back of 2023/24

Indeed, Mittelstadt ranks well in quite literally every department whereas Grimaldo, who is basically a winger, often neglects - or is allowed to neglect - his defensive responsibilities. Mittelstadt, on the other hand, is a tireless worker, ranking in the top 99th percentile of full-backs in Europe's top-five leagues in terms of tackles and interceptions, according to Fbref. The Stuttgart man is also in the upper 80s and 90s in terms of assists and expected assists, passes attempted, pass completion, progressive passes, progressive carries, blocks, aerials won and successful take-ons. In short, Mittelstadt is a machine.

His form saw him rewarded with a first call-up to Germany's national team during the March 2024 international break and Mittelstadt immediately slotted into the starting line-up and didn't look out of place against France and the Netherlands, even scoring against the latter. The 27-year-old looks a shoo-in to start at Euro 2024 on home soil and has arguably been Europe's best left-back this season. Stuttgart managed to qualify for the Champions League last season and this €500k bargain has been one of the big reasons behind their success.