By Rich

​Lars Lukas Mai, whose nickname is “Lasse”, is a 19-year-old defender for FC Bayern München. Mai was born on March 31, 2000 in Dresden, Germany, and spent his youth career playing for Dynamo Dresden until July 2014, when he transferred to his current club. Mai made his professional debut on April 21, 2018, when he played the full 90 minutes against Hannover 96, becoming the first player born in the year 2000 to play for Bayern in the Bundesliga. He signed his first professional contract on April 27, 2018, and has made more than 40 appearances for Bayern’s senior and reserve squads. Mai has also played for Germany’s U15, U16, U17, and U18 squads, his older brother Sebastian plays as a center back for Hallescher FC, and his father Lars was a member of the supervisory board of Dynamo Dresden from November 2013 to November 2017.

By Rich

​Felix Wiedwald is a 29-year-old goalkeeper for Eintracht Frankfurt. Wiedwald was born on March 15, 1990 in Thedinghausen, West Germany, and spent his youth career playing for TSV Achim from 1997 to 1999, and SV Werder Bremen from 1999 to 2009. His senior career continued at Bremen, where he made his professional debut on September 26, 2009 in a 2-2 away game at FC Carl Zeiss Jena, and was Werder Bremen II’s first-choice keeper. His career continued at MSV Duisburg from 2011 to 2013, Eintracht Frankfurt from 2013 to 2015, SV Werder Bremen from 2015 to 2017, Leeds United from 2017 to 2018, and Eintracht Frankfurt since 2018, which included playing on loan at Duisburg from January to May 2019. Wiedwald also made 1 appearance for Germany’s U20 squad in 2009.

By Rich

Gian-Luca Waldschmidt is a 23-year-old forward for Sport-Club Freiburg. Waldschmidt was born on May 19, 1996 in Siegen, Germany, and spent his youth career playing for SSV Oranien Frohnhausen from 2001 to 2007, SSC Juno Burg from 2007 to 2009, TSG Wieseck from 2009 to 2010, and Eintracht Frankfurt from 2010 to 2014. Waldschmidt signed his first professional contract on April 25, 2014, a three-year deal that saw him promoted to Eintracht’s senior squad, where he made 15 appearances until 2016. Waldschmidt then spent two years at Hamburger SV, where he scored 2 goals in 35 appearances, and signed for his current club in May 2018. Waldschmidt has also played for Germany’s U16, U17, U18, U19, U21, and senior squads, scoring 17 goals in 30 appearances between 2011 and 2019. Waldschmidt is the son of Wolfgang Waldschmidt, who made 14 appearances for SV Darmstadt 98 in the 1983-4 2. Bundesliga season.

By Rich

​​Louis Beyer is a 19-year-old defender for Borussia Mönchengladbach. Beyer was born on May 19, 2000 in Kempen, Germany, and spent his youth career playing for DJK-SV Thomasstadt Kempen, Fortuna Düsseldorf, and Borussia Mönchengladbach. His senior career continued at Gladbach beginning in 2018. Beyer has also made 17 appearances for Germany’s U16, U17, U18, U19, and U21 squads from 2015 through 2019. In an interview last year, Beyer said his nervousness in playing in the Bundesliga disappeared when he successfully blocked a shot from Bayer Leverkusen’s Kevin Volland.