Phillipp Mwene #16

Profile

Reliable left-backs are in short supply but the 32-year-old has established himself as one of them, making him an important player for Ralf Rangnick’s team. Mwene solves problems on the left flank; he is a dynamic worker, sharp in defence and energetic going forward. In Swahili, the phrase is hakuna matata – no problem – which was also the name of his father John’s Kenyan restaurant in Vienna. His mother worked as a nurse at Vienna’s AKH, one of Europe’s biggest hospitals, which brought its own advantages. “When I came home from playing football with scrapes and bruises, she could treat me straight away,” he once said. Joined Mainz for the first time in 2018 and when he left for PSV three years later the then-coach, Bo Svensson, said it “hurt personally”. Now back at the Bundesliga club, he has regained his starting place.

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