By Rich

Lilian Egloff is an 18-year-old midfielder for VfB Stuttgart. Egloff was born on August 20, 2002 in Heilbronn, Germany, and spent his youth career playing for TSG Bretfeld-Rappach until 2012, and VfB Stuttgart since 2012. He made his professional debut for Stuttgart on February 5, 2020 in a 2019-20 DFB Pokal match against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. On August 20, 2020, he extended his contract with Stuttgart until June 2024. Egloff also made 1 appearance for Germany’s U15 squad in 2017, when he also scored 1 goal.

By Rich

The 2020-2021 Bundesliga season ends on Saturday, and the day will settle the uncertainty that exists at both ends of the table. At the top of the table, FC Bayern München and RB Leipzig have already clinched first and second place, while the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League places have also already been decided. By virtue of their spots in the first 4 positions in the table, Bayern, Leipzig, Dortmund, and Wolfsburg have secured their places in both the Champions League and Europa League. In addition, Frankfurt will finish in fifth place, securing their 4th time in the Europa League, and Leverkusen’s sixth-place finish will net them a Europa League group stage berth for their third straight year. A further 4 clubs are now vying for a single place in the new third tier of European competition: Union Berlin, Borussia Mönchengladbach, VfB Stuttgart, and Sport-Club Freiburg. Union can clinch that spot by either winning their match on Saturday or equalizing the results of the other 3 clubs. Gladbach will take the spot if they win at Bayern and Union fail to beat Leipzig, or if Gladbach draw, Union win, and both Stuttgart and Freiburg fail to win. Stuttgart’s only chance at clinching the spot would require winning at home against Bielefeld and having Gladbach not win and Union losing; they could also take the spot if Gladbach don’t win, Union draws, and Stuttgart win by at least 3 goals; both scenarios require Freiburg not winning by 2 goals more than Stuttgart’s margin. Freiburg are in a similar situation to Stuttgart: they need to win and have Gladbach not win and Union lose, or win by at least 4 goals if Gladbach don’t win and Union draw. At the other end of the table, Schalke have already been relegated, and the remaining 2 spots in the relegation zone are being contested by DSC Arminia Bielefeld, SV Werder Bremen, and 1. FC Köln. Arminia can secure another season in the top flight by either winning at Stuttgart or equaling Bremen’s and Cologne’s results. Bremen, who are currently in the relegation playoff spot, can stay in the top flight next season with a win at home over Gladbach if Bielefeld fail to win, or with a draw if if Bielefeld lose and Cologne fail to win. If Bremen fail to do better than Bielefeld, they can secure the playoff spot by at least equalizing Cologne’s points, and the only way they could be automatically relegated is if they don’t win and Cologne win. Cologne’s only path to survival next season is through a win at home over Schalke, and they will be safe if both Bielefeld and Bremen fail to win. If both Cologne and Bielefeld win and Bremen draw or lose, Cologne will be in the playoff, and a draw for Cologne would only suffice if Bremen lose by at least 9 goals to Gladbach. 

The UEFA Euro 2020, postponed from last year, will begin on Friday, June 11th, and next season’s Bundesliga will begin on Friday, August 13th.

By Rich

​Matondo-Merveille Papela is a 20-year-old central midfielder for 1. FSV Mainz 05. Papela was born on January 18, 2001 in Mainz, Germany and spent his youth career playing for TSV Schott Mainz until 2011, and 1. FSV Mainz 05 from 2011 to 2020. His senior career continued at Mainz, starting in 2019, for both Mainz 05 II and Mainz 05. His professional debut in the Bundesliga came on January 3, 2021, when he came on as a substitute in the 89th minute for Philipp Mwene in a 5:2 loss to Bayern. Papela has also made 28 appearances for Germany’s U15, U16, U17, U18, and U20 squads since 2016, scoring 1 goal.