Profile on Holger Badstuber

On May 12^th, 2018 Holger Badstuber returned to his old stomping ground and celebrated an epic 4-1 win with VfB away to FC Bayern Munich on the final matchday of the 2017/2018 season. It was the crowning glory of what had been a fine personal campaign with VfB – but it was not to prove his farewell to the club! The 29-year-old will now don the jersey with the infamous red hoop for the next three years.

Holger Badstuber already has some 156 Bundesliga games under his belt. 27 of the defensive specialist’s top-flight appearances were made for VfB last season – with Badstuber winning 66% of his challenges on the ground and 68% in the air. In addition, the 29-year-old netted two of his three Bundesliga goals in the jersey with the infamous hoop. Boasting a successful pass-rate of 88%, VfB’s number 28 was one of the most competent passers of the ball in the Bundesliga last season.

Essential pillar in a stable defence

The statistics make it absolutely clear that the 29-year-old made an impressive return to top-flight football in Germany along with VfB. Holger Badstuber had a decisive role to play in the team in the shirts with the infamous hoop boasting the second best defence in the Bundesliga, having conceded just 36 goals. Thanks to his experience from eight prior Bundesliga seasons, Holger Badstuber was an essential pillar of stability within the team’s structure.

Having previously spent two years with VfB’s youth teams (2000 to 2002), Badstuber began his professional career with Bayern Munich. As a 20-year-old, the Memmingen born defender made his Bundesliga debut on August 8^th, 2009 and duly became an almost permanent fixture with the all-time record title holders over the next three seasons. At 21, he then made his debut in the German national team shortly before the 2010 World Cup and was in the DFB squads for the tournament finals in South Africa, as well as the 2012 EUROs in Poland and the Ukraine – making a total of 31 appearances in the national team.

Almost the full-house in club football

At club level, there is barely a title which Holger Badstuber has not won in his nine years as a pro. And the 29-year-old’s title collection is almost unparalleled: Four DFB-Cups wins, six Bundesliga championships, three DFL-Supercups and one title win each in the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA World Club Championship. The defender has 39 games to his credit in the Champions League and reached the final with FC Bayern on three occasions. The outstanding highlight of his achievements on national and European level was the treble win with Bayern in 2012/2013, when the Bavarians claimed the German championship, the DFB-Cup and the UEFA Champions League.