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Maximilian Mittelstadt: The long road to Berlin

Maximilian Mittelstadt: The long road to Berlin

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For Maximilian Mittelstädt, as a Berlin native and life-long Hertha supporter, experiencing relegation from the Bundesliga last season was a low point, to say the least…

By Ninad Barbadikar

To bounce back from that with VfB Stuttgart this term and not only that, but also cementing himself as a starter for Die Nationalmannschaft, has been some achievement.

With Euro 2024 on home soil, this Berlin boy has a chance to fight for glory in the city that moulded him. Moving away from the capital has perfected his game and given him this grand opportunity. The road back to Berlin starts against Scotland in the Euros opener, but the road to get here has been an unexpectedly pleasant one.

Rightly regarded in the Bundesliga as arguably the best left-back alongside Grimaldo, Mittelstädt’s rise has been terrific. 

So how has he gone from second-choice at Hertha to starting for Stuttgart and Germany?

Benefits of consistency

In the nine Bundesliga seasons that Mittelstädt played at Hertha Berlin the club changed managers 10 times. So naturally there was going to be an improvement at Stuttgart under the genius Sebastian Hoeneß, who has taken the club to new heights this term. 

Stuttgart’s own journey over the past few years mirrors that of Mittelstädt, so perhaps it is only right that the two parties found their best form when they came together. After surviving the battle against the drop last term, to finishing as runners up behind Bayer Leverkusen this season, Die Schwaben’s performances have garnered much praise. 

The team’s success is very much a collective effort and it has been interesting to follow just how Mittelstädt has fit in, in the grand scheme of things.

In Hoeneß’s 4-2-3-1 system, the full-backs are involved heavily in ball progression as well as facilitating chance creation – both of which are huge strengths of Mittelstädt’s.

Sitting comfortably within the top five players at Stuttgart for live ball touches with (2041), the 27-year-old’s intelligence and engine in shuffling between defence and attack is crucial for the German side.

On the spectrum of modern-day full-backs who are either excellent offensively or pure defenders, Mittelstädt falls somewhere in between, bringing exceptional quality across the board.

All-round specialist

Mittelstädt’s player radar perfectly describes him as an all-round specialist from full-back. Lying in the 98th percentile for defensive actions, Mittelstädt is a tireless tackling machine off the ball and a crucial part of Stuttgart’s counter-press.

In fact, only champions Bayer Leverkusen (73) accumulated more shot-ending high turnovers than Stuttgart (61) last term. Further, no team scored more from high turnovers than Stuttgart, whose tally of 11 makes them the king of high turnovers.

Mittelstädt’s ability to jump in and pinch the ball back from opposition players here is key. The strongest evidence of that is this – Stuttgart average more of the ball than most of the sides in the league (60%) and even with this caveat, Mittelstädt averaged more tackles and interceptions per 90 at Stuttgart (5.85) than almost all of his seasons at Hertha where he was never a starter.

But even beyond that, the former Hertha man looks to progress the ball further up the pitch once it has been won back. When carrying it himself further up the pitch, he can be very effective at navigating through lines of pressure and unsettling the opposition’s block.

In possession, Hoeneß likes his full-backs to invert narrow into midfield areas, whilst this has huge benefits in terms of the counter-press, it also opens up lanes to the wingers like Chris Führich, who excels in 1v1 scenarios.

When his partner in crime is doubled up on though, Mittelstädt excels at neutralising the numbers by his underlapping/overlapping runs so he and Führich dovetail perfectly when attacking the opposition down the left flank.

“Chris and I complement each other very well, yes. I often try to get involved in the attack. That means Chris and I always create superior numbers on the wing. This way, I keep tying up opponents and opening up important spaces for him,” said Mittelstädt in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine, on his relationship with Führich.

Those under/overlapping runs are more than just decoys however, as Mittelstädt is more than capable of delivering from crosses as his tally of four assists suggests. It’s worth noting here that his Expected Assists (xA) figure for the past season was 6.72, so there is some underperformance from those he set up chances for.

Averaging 0.29 xA per 90 whilst creating chances at a rate of 1.28 per 90 shows hugely encouraging output from the German fullback. Whilst his output may pale in comparison to the likes of Alejandro Grimaldo, it is important to consider the differences in roles for both players at their respective clubs. 

Mittelstädt in a back-four plays more like a traditional full-back whereas the Spaniard is given far more freedom offensively for Leverkusen and has the protection of a back three behind him.

Providing solutions

Hoeneß deserves a great deal of credit for giving Mittelstädt a consistent run of games at full-back where the evidence was stacked heavily against him after his spell at Hertha.

Not only has the 27 year old benefitted from the trust. Speaking to the Stuttgarter Nachrichten, he said, “Here (at VfB), in a functioning team, I have been given the trust to play in my regular position for a longer period of time. That makes the difference.”

Earlier in the season, he was competing with Bayern-bound Hiroki Ito for a spot on the left. However, an injury to Dan-Axel Zagadou moved Ito to left centre-back and paved the way for more Mittelstädt minutes.

His performances at full-back have brought nothing but praise out of Hoeneß. Back in March, the Stuttgart boss said, “He has created a lot of great chances, but is also capable of moving in as a left-wing six and solving many situations there with ease. This variability is really special.”

What makes Mittelstädt such a good problem solver is that he’s always got an answer for what he’s coming up against. He retains possession and progresses play under pressure with great ease. He can carry into the middle of the pitch to open up spaces elsewhere and is the perfect team-mate because of his selfless style of play. Ranking in the 89th percentile for successful dribbles as a full-back is strong evidence of his ability with the ball.

He has already gotten off the mark for Germany with a wonder-strike against the Netherlands and is expected to strike up an excellent partnership with Florian Wirtz on the left. After years of struggling to find the right fit at left-back, it seems like Mittelstädt is the one.

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said after calling him up, “Maxi Mittelstädt is currently the most stable left-back in the Bundesliga. Statistically speaking, he is by far the best left-back in the Bundesliga.”

This kind of sentiment may have been unthinkable for the Stuttgart defender 12 months ago but things have changed drastically since then.

Champions League football with Stuttgart awaits the Berlin boy next, but first, the focus is on realising his dream with Germany at the Euros. The real work starts here for Mittelstädt.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from Euro 2024 live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Maximilian Mittelstadt: The long road to Berlin

For Maximilian Mittelstädt, as a Berlin native and life-long Hertha supporter, experiencing relegation from the Bundesliga last season was a low point, to say the least…

By Ninad Barbadikar

To bounce back from that with VfB Stuttgart this term and not only that, but also cementing himself as a starter for Die Nationalmannschaft, has been some achievement.

With Euro 2024 on home soil, this Berlin boy has a chance to fight for glory in the city that moulded him. Moving away from the capital has perfected his game and given him this grand opportunity. The road back to Berlin starts against Scotland in the Euros opener, but the road to get here has been an unexpectedly pleasant one.

Rightly regarded in the Bundesliga as arguably the best left-back alongside Grimaldo, Mittelstädt’s rise has been terrific. 

So how has he gone from second-choice at Hertha to starting for Stuttgart and Germany?

Benefits of consistency

In the nine Bundesliga seasons that Mittelstädt played at Hertha Berlin the club changed managers 10 times. So naturally there was going to be an improvement at Stuttgart under the genius Sebastian Hoeneß, who has taken the club to new heights this term. 

Stuttgart’s own journey over the past few years mirrors that of Mittelstädt, so perhaps it is only right that the two parties found their best form when they came together. After surviving the battle against the drop last term, to finishing as runners up behind Bayer Leverkusen this season, Die Schwaben’s performances have garnered much praise. 

The team’s success is very much a collective effort and it has been interesting to follow just how Mittelstädt has fit in, in the grand scheme of things.

In Hoeneß’s 4-2-3-1 system, the full-backs are involved heavily in ball progression as well as facilitating chance creation – both of which are huge strengths of Mittelstädt’s.

Sitting comfortably within the top five players at Stuttgart for live ball touches with (2041), the 27-year-old’s intelligence and engine in shuffling between defence and attack is crucial for the German side.

On the spectrum of modern-day full-backs who are either excellent offensively or pure defenders, Mittelstädt falls somewhere in between, bringing exceptional quality across the board.

All-round specialist

Mittelstädt’s player radar perfectly describes him as an all-round specialist from full-back. Lying in the 98th percentile for defensive actions, Mittelstädt is a tireless tackling machine off the ball and a crucial part of Stuttgart’s counter-press.

In fact, only champions Bayer Leverkusen (73) accumulated more shot-ending high turnovers than Stuttgart (61) last term. Further, no team scored more from high turnovers than Stuttgart, whose tally of 11 makes them the king of high turnovers.

Mittelstädt’s ability to jump in and pinch the ball back from opposition players here is key. The strongest evidence of that is this – Stuttgart average more of the ball than most of the sides in the league (60%) and even with this caveat, Mittelstädt averaged more tackles and interceptions per 90 at Stuttgart (5.85) than almost all of his seasons at Hertha where he was never a starter.

But even beyond that, the former Hertha man looks to progress the ball further up the pitch once it has been won back. When carrying it himself further up the pitch, he can be very effective at navigating through lines of pressure and unsettling the opposition’s block.

In possession, Hoeneß likes his full-backs to invert narrow into midfield areas, whilst this has huge benefits in terms of the counter-press, it also opens up lanes to the wingers like Chris Führich, who excels in 1v1 scenarios.

When his partner in crime is doubled up on though, Mittelstädt excels at neutralising the numbers by his underlapping/overlapping runs so he and Führich dovetail perfectly when attacking the opposition down the left flank.

“Chris and I complement each other very well, yes. I often try to get involved in the attack. That means Chris and I always create superior numbers on the wing. This way, I keep tying up opponents and opening up important spaces for him,” said Mittelstädt in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine, on his relationship with Führich.

Those under/overlapping runs are more than just decoys however, as Mittelstädt is more than capable of delivering from crosses as his tally of four assists suggests. It’s worth noting here that his Expected Assists (xA) figure for the past season was 6.72, so there is some underperformance from those he set up chances for.

Averaging 0.29 xA per 90 whilst creating chances at a rate of 1.28 per 90 shows hugely encouraging output from the German fullback. Whilst his output may pale in comparison to the likes of Alejandro Grimaldo, it is important to consider the differences in roles for both players at their respective clubs. 

Mittelstädt in a back-four plays more like a traditional full-back whereas the Spaniard is given far more freedom offensively for Leverkusen and has the protection of a back three behind him.

Providing solutions

Hoeneß deserves a great deal of credit for giving Mittelstädt a consistent run of games at full-back where the evidence was stacked heavily against him after his spell at Hertha.

Not only has the 27 year old benefitted from the trust. Speaking to the Stuttgarter Nachrichten, he said, “Here (at VfB), in a functioning team, I have been given the trust to play in my regular position for a longer period of time. That makes the difference.”

Earlier in the season, he was competing with Bayern-bound Hiroki Ito for a spot on the left. However, an injury to Dan-Axel Zagadou moved Ito to left centre-back and paved the way for more Mittelstädt minutes.

His performances at full-back have brought nothing but praise out of Hoeneß. Back in March, the Stuttgart boss said, “He has created a lot of great chances, but is also capable of moving in as a left-wing six and solving many situations there with ease. This variability is really special.”

What makes Mittelstädt such a good problem solver is that he’s always got an answer for what he’s coming up against. He retains possession and progresses play under pressure with great ease. He can carry into the middle of the pitch to open up spaces elsewhere and is the perfect team-mate because of his selfless style of play. Ranking in the 89th percentile for successful dribbles as a full-back is strong evidence of his ability with the ball.

He has already gotten off the mark for Germany with a wonder-strike against the Netherlands and is expected to strike up an excellent partnership with Florian Wirtz on the left. After years of struggling to find the right fit at left-back, it seems like Mittelstädt is the one.

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said after calling him up, “Maxi Mittelstädt is currently the most stable left-back in the Bundesliga. Statistically speaking, he is by far the best left-back in the Bundesliga.”

This kind of sentiment may have been unthinkable for the Stuttgart defender 12 months ago but things have changed drastically since then.

Champions League football with Stuttgart awaits the Berlin boy next, but first, the focus is on realising his dream with Germany at the Euros. The real work starts here for Mittelstädt.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from Euro 2024 live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.