Niclas Füllkrug

The 30-year-old attacker has been under contract with Borussia Dortmund since 31 August 2023. He previously played for Werder Bremen.

Early years on the football pitch

Niclas Füllkrug was born in Hanover and grew up in the district of Ricklingen. His father Andreas not only played for the local sports club, but also coached youth teams there, including his son's, whose talent was recognised early on. In the 2001/02 season, Niclas scored 162 goals as an eight-year-old. His sister Anna-Lena is also a football enthusiast. She plays in the women's regional league for Hannover 96 and as children they spent a lot of time together on the football pitch, he told the Hannoversche Allgemeine a few years ago, adding: ‘I always liked to take her with me. At some point, she got better than some of my mates and then I liked taking her with me even more.’

Füllkrug's career start in Bremen

These sentences also clearly emphasise the character and down-to-earth nature of the current national striker, who married his girlfriend from primary school days, Lisa, in 2016. His daughter Emilia was born in 2019. However, his career did not start in Hanover, but in Bremen, around 120 kilometres away. He moved to SV Werder at the age of 13 and a year later joined the club's youth academy.

From his first professional appearances to his breakthrough

In the 2011/12 season, Füllkrug made his first appearances in the second team, which was playing in the 3rd division at the time. On 21 January 2012, he made his first appearance in the professional squad in the away match at Kaiserslautern, a week later he made his Bundesliga debut in the home match against Bayer Leverkusen (1:1). He scored his first goal in March 2012.

Stages of an eventful career

After missing the entire second half of the 2012/13 season due to a knee injury and not playing in the first three matches of the following season, Füllkrug initially went on loan to second division club Greuther Fürth. In the summer of 2014, 1. FC Nürnberg signed him permanently. After missing out on promotion (in the play-offs against Eintracht Frankfurt), he returned to his hometown and wore the jersey of Hannover 96, which had been relegated from the Bundesliga that year, for the first time. With five goals in the second half of the season, he contributed to the club's promotion, and in his first full Bundesliga season he played in all 34 games and scored 14 goals.

Niclas Füllkrug's return to Werder Bremen and successes

SV Werder brought the striker back to the Weser in the summer of 2019. Apart from a ten-month break following a cruciate ligament rupture, he was now a fixture in attack. In view of his performances, Füllkrug was considered a potential candidate for the World Cup in Qatar at the end of the year in autumn 2022. He was actually nominated for the tournament and also came on as a substitute in all three games for the German team, scoring two of the six DFB goals. He ended the season as Bremen's first top scorer in the Bundesliga since Miroslav Klose in 2005/06. Füllkrug scored 31 per cent of all Werder goals (16 out of 51); no other Bundesliga player achieved a higher percentage at his club. He also provided five assists, giving him the third-best record in the league.

Füllkrug's move to Borussia Dortmund

After 124 games and 49 goals for Werder Bremen, Niclas Füllkrug moved to Borussia Dortmund on the penultimate day of the 2023 transfer window. ‘We are looking forward to this positive guy, who will tear himself apart for our BVB. Niclas is burning for the task at Borussia Dortmund,’ said sporting director Sebastian Kehl about the seasoned professional, who noted: ’The yellow wall - now is on my side. That's really cool. Werder will always have a part of my heart. But now I'm absolutely delighted to be able to play for such a big and emotional club. I want to prove myself at a new level. At BVB, I have the chance to develop as a player and gain new experiences. I'm eager for the tasks ahead and want to be as successful as possible with this team.’ Less than 24 hours later, he was called into action for the first time. ‘It was unbelievable how loudly they shouted my name,’ he said, describing the moment of his debut in the home match against Heidenheim."