Nico Schlotterbeck #15

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The kind of defender many German football fans love: he always throws himself fully into challenges, is strong in the air, loves a sliding tackle and celebrates after winning duels. Playing against Schlotterbeck hurts. He also scores goals every now and then, after which he shows the crowd his impressive biceps. He can sometimes work himself into a frenzy and then is not always in control, becoming a security risk in his own penalty area. It would perhaps help if he took a leaf out of Fabio Cannavaro’s book of clever defending; the Italian was his role model after all. The only left-footer among Germany’s centre-backs, he is arguably in the starting XI for exactly that reason.

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