Niklas Süle (born 3 September 1995) is a German professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a centre-back for club

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional fo ...

and the Germany national team.

Club career

Early career

Süle started his career with Rot-Weiß Walldorf. In July 2006, he signed for the youth team of

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...

, where he played until the end of the 2008–09 season. In July 2009, he signed for the youth team of SV Darmstadt 98, and only half a year later he left for the youth team at

1899 Hoffenheim Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e.V., or simply TSG 1899 Hoffenheim or just Hoffenheim () is a German professional football club based in Hoffenheim, a village of Sinsheim municipality, Baden-Württemberg. Originally founded in 189 ...

1899 Hoffenheim

left, Süle with Hoffenheim in 2014 On 11 May 2013, Süle made his debut for Hoffenheim in a

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

game against

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...

. He started the match but was substituted for Andreas Ludwig in the 81st minute. Hoffenheim lost the game 4–1. During the 2012–13 season, Süle made two Bundesliga appearances and two

relegation playoff In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

appearances as Hoffenheim defeated

1. FC Kaiserslautern 1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern e. V., also known as 1. FCK, FCK (), FC Kaiserslautern () or colloquially Lautern (), is a German sports club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition to football, the club also operates in sev ...

to stay in the Bundesliga. During the 2013–14 season Süle established himself as an important first team player for Hoffenheim. Süle played in 25 Bundesliga matches and scored four goals as he helped Hoffenheim finish 9th in the league. Süle started the 2014–15 season strong and played every minute during the first 14 Bundesliga matches. On 12 December 2014, Süle suffered a torn

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and th ...

during matchday 15 against Frankfurt. Süle was sidelined for the rest of the season due to the injury. Hoffenheim finished 8th in the league. Süle returned for the 2015–16 season after the ACL tear. He played every minute in 33 Bundesliga matches as Hoffenheim finished a disappointing 15th in the league. Süle had a very impressive 2016–17 season for Hoffenheim as he played in 33 Bundesliga matches. Hoffenheim finished in an impressive 4th in the Bundesliga. Süle's performance drew interest from clubs like Bayern Munich and

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. On 15 January 2017, Bayern Munich had announced that they had signed Süle along with Sebastian Rudy from Hoffenheim as a double swoop. Both Süle and Rudy joined Bayern Munich on 1 July 2017.

Bayern Munich

upSüle training with Bayern in 2018 Süle's first appearance came as he was named a starter for Bayern Munich's season opener against Bayer 04 Leverkusen on 18 August 2017. He scored the first goal of the 2017–18 Bundesliga season, heading in a free kick from fellow Bayern newcomer and Hoffenheim-product Sebastian Rudy. On 12 September 2017, Süle made his Champions League debut against Anderlecht. Süle played in 27 Bundesliga matches and scored two goals. He made nine appearances in the Champions League during the season. Süle won his first Bundesliga title after Bayern Munich finished 21 points ahead of second-placed

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...

. Süle also reached his first

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...

final as Bayern Munich were beaten 3–1 by Süle's former youth club, Eintracht Frankfurt. Süle started the 2018–19 season by playing in the 2018 German Super Cup, which Bayern won 5–0. On 20 April 2019, Süle scored the winning goal in a 1–0 win over

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are best known for the ...

. The win kept Bayern at the top of the Bundesliga table. On 18 May 2019, Süle won his second Bundesliga title as Bayern finished with 78 points, two points above Dortmund. A week later, Süle won his first DFB-Pokal as Bayern defeated

RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig, and colloquially referred to as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company Red Bul ...

3–0 in the 2019 DFB-Pokal Final. He played in 31 Bundesliga matches and scored two goals. During the Bundesliga season, Süle had a 95 percent pass completion while having the fourth most touches of any Bundesliga player. Süle appeared in 42 matches in all competitions and scored two goals. Süle tore his anterior cruciate ligament injury in the 12th minute of the team's eighth league match of the 2019-20 season and was expected to be out of the line-up for eight to ten months, preventing him from participating with Germany for

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

, before the tournament was postponed. On 8 August 2020, Süle played against Chelsea in the Champions League, marking his first match since October 2019. He then started from the bench in the later games in the Champions League. On 23 August 2020, Süle came on from the bench in the

2020 UEFA Champions League Final The 2020 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League, the 65th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 28th season since it was renamed from the European Champion ...

and replaced

Jérôme Boateng Jérôme Agyenim Boateng (born 3 September 1988) is a German professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for French Ligue 1 club Lyon. Boateng started his career at Hertha BSC where he developed from the youth ranks to the first team. Aft ...

after he suffered an early injury. He won the Champions League, completing the continental treble for that season. On 9 December 2020, Süle scored his first Champions League goal in a 2–0 win over

Lokomotiv Moscow FC Lokomotiv Moscow (''FC Lokomotiv Moskva'', russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб "Локомотив" Москва, ) is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow. Lokomotiv have won the Russian Premier League on three oc ...

Borussia Dortmund

Süle agreed to join

starting from the 2022–23 season on a free transfer on a four-year contract.

International career

Süle participated in the

2012 UEFA European Under-17 Championship The 2012 UEFA European Under-17 Championship was the eleventh edition of UEFA's European Under-17 Football Championship under its current age grouping. Slovenia hosted the tournament between 4 and 16 May. An appeal by the Hungarian Football Federa ...

with the German U17 team. He was part of the squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics, where Germany won the silver medal. Süle was called up in August 2016 when the

Germany national football team The Germany national football team (german: link=no, Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft) represents Germany in men's international football and played its first match in 1908. The team is governed by the German Football Association (''Deuts ...

played

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. He was brought off in the 59th minute against Finland. Süle was named in Germany's final 23-man squad by

Joachim Löw Joachim Löw (born 3 February 1960) is a German football coach and former player. He was the manager of the Germany national team from 2006 until 2021. During his tenure as manager, he led Germany to victory at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil ...

for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. On 27 June, Süle made his first

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

appearance in the last match of the group stage in a 2–0 defeat to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

, as Germany got knocked out of the World Cup in the first round for the first time since 1938. On 19 May 2021, he was selected for the UEFA Euro 2020 squad.

Personal life

Süle was born in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...

. His grandfather György emigrated with his wife from

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

to Germany. His father Georg worked as a coach at Rot-Weiss Walldorf; meanwhile, his elder brother, Fabian, had a football scholarship at the St. Francis College in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, to study Business Management, Economics and Finance. His family name is of Hungarian origin, but the manager of the

Turkish Football Federation The Turkish Football Federation (; TFF) is the governing body of association football in Turkey. It was formed on 23 April 1923, and joined FIFA the same year and UEFA in 1962. It organizes the Turkey national football team, the Turkish Footba ...

under-16 national team contacted Süle during his teenage years about the possibility of playing for them as Süle's surname seemed Turkish to him. He was also eligible for the Hungarian national team, since he holds Hungarian citizenship. Süle had a son in late 2020 with his girlfriend Melissa Halte.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''As of match played 26 September 2022. Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first.''

Honours

Bayern Munich *

: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22 *

: 2018–19, 2019–20 * DFL-Supercup:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

: 2019–20 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

* FIFA Club World Cup:

Germany Olympic * Summer Olympic Games silver medal:

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Germany * FIFA Confederations Cup:

Individual * UEFA Champions League Breakthrough XI: 2017 * Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2016–17 * ''

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (sports magazine), in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the word used i ...

'' Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2021–22

References

External links

Profile
at the Borussia Dortmund website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sule, Niklas 1995 births Living people Footballers from Frankfurt German footballers Association football defenders TSG 1899 Hoffenheim II players TSG 1899 Hoffenheim players FC Bayern Munich footballers Borussia Dortmund players Regionalliga players Bundesliga players UEFA Champions League winning players Germany youth international footballers Germany under-21 international footballers Germany international footballers 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2018 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2020 players 2022 FIFA World Cup players FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players Olympic footballers of Germany Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Germany Olympic medalists in football German people of Hungarian descent