Quick Facts
VirgoBiography
Niklas Süle ([ˈnɪkˌlas ˈzʏlə]; born 3 September 1995) is a German professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich 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, 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.
1899 Hoffenheim
On 11 May 2013, Süle made his debut for Hoffenheim in a Bundesliga game against Hamburger SV. He started the match but was substituted for Andreas Ludwig in the 81st minute. Hoffenheim lost the game 4–1. The 2012–13 season, Süle made two Bundesliga appearances and two Relegation Playoff appearances as Hoffenheim defeated 1. FC Kaiserslautern 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 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 disappointed 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.
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
2017–18 season
Süle earned his first appearance for Bayern Munich, having been named a starter for their season opener against Bayer 04 Leverkusen on 18 August 2017 where he scored the first goal of the 2017–18 Bundesliga season, having headed 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. Süle made nine appearances in the Champions League during the season.
Süle won his first Bundesliga title after Bayern Munich finished 21 points ahead of the second place Schalke 04. Süle also reached his first DFB-Pokal final as Bayern Munich were beaten 3–1 by Süle's former youth club, Eintracht Frankfurt.
2018–19 season
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. The win kept Bayern at the top of the Bundesliga table.
On 18 May 2019, Süle won his second Bundesliga title as Bayern finished two points above Dortmund with 78 points. A week later, Süle won his first DFB-Pokal as Bayern defeated RB Leipzig 3-0 in the 2019 DFB-Pokal Final.
Süle played in 31 Bundesliga matches and scored two goals. During the Bundesliga season, Süle had an impressive 95% pass completion while having the fourth most touches of any Bundesliga player. Süle appeared in 42 matches in all competitions and scored two goals.
2019–20 season
Süle tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the twelfth minute of the team's eight league match of the season and is expected to be out of the line-up for eight to ten months, essentially ending his season, and precluding any involvement with Germany for UEFA Euro 2020.
International career
With the German U17 he participated at the 2012 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.
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 played Finland and Norway. He was brought off in the 59th minute against Finland.
Süle was named in Germany's final 23-man squad by Joachim Löw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. On 27 June, Süle made his first World Cup appearance in the last match of the group stage in a 2–0 defeat to South Korea as his side got knocked out from the World Cup for the first time since 1938.
Personal life
Süle was born in Frankfurt, Hesse. His family name is of Hungarian origin, but the manager of the Turkish Football Federation 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 Hungary national team.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 19 October 2019
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| 1899 Hoffenheim II | 2012–13 | Regionalliga Südwest | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2013–14 | Regionalliga Südwest | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||||
| 1899 Hoffenheim | 2012–13 | Bundesliga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2013–14 | Bundesliga | 25 | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 28 | 5 | |||
| 2014–15 | Bundesliga | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 1 | |||
| 2015–16 | Bundesliga | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17 | Bundesliga | 33 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 2 | |||
| Total | 107 | 7 | 7 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | 116 | 8 | |||
| Bayern Munich | 2017–18 | Bundesliga | 27 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 2 |
| 2018–19 | Bundesliga | 31 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 2 | |
| 2019–20 | Bundesliga | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
| Total | 66 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 96 | 4 | ||
| Career total | 179 | 11 | 18 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 219 | 12 | ||
International
- As of match played 13 October 2019
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 2016 | 1 | 0 |
| 2017 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2019 | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 24 | 1 | |
- As of match played 13 October 2019. Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 November 2018 | Red Bull Arena, Leipzig, Germany |  Russia | 2–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
Honours
Bayern Munich
- Bundesliga: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20
- DFB-Pokal: 2018–19, 2019–20
- DFL-Supercup: 2017, 2018
Germany Olympic
- Summer Olympic Games silver medal: 2016
Germany
- FIFA Confederations Cup: 2017
Individual
- Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2016–17