The tooth of his colleague pierced his forehead: Who is Niclas Füllkrug?

Niclas Füllkrug was born on February 9, 1993 in Hannover. He started football in the Werder Bremen infrastructure. While playing in the junior age groups, he collided with a teammate during practice and damaged his teeth. One of his upper front teeth was broken and when you look at it now, he has spaces between his teeth, besides, it is possible to see the gap of his broken tooth. One of his friend's teeth, which he had collided with, lodged in his forehead. Both young actors had to be treated at the hospital. This story would later give Füllkrug the nickname "Lücke" meaning emptiness. This nickname was given to him by Arnautovic, who was a teammate at Werder Bremen for a while. In the 2013/14 season, he transferred to Nürnberg after a loan performance of 6 goals in 21 games in Greuther Fürth. Playing ball in Nuremberg for two seasons, Füllkrug moved on to Hannover 96 after 17 goals and 10 assists in 54 games. He had some knee problems in the 2018/2019 season and when the problem recurred 14 games later, it was announced that he had closed the season. The following season, he returned to Werder Bremen, the team where he started playing again for 6.5 million euros. In his 3 seasons in Hannover 96, he scored 21 goals and 7 assists in 75 games.

Niclas Füllkrug (born 9 February 1993) is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bundesliga club Werder Bremen and the Germany national team. A Werder Bremen youth star, Füllkrug started his senior career with the club's reserves. Following appearances with the first team in the Bundesliga and a loan to 2. Bundesliga side Greuther Fürth in the 2013–14 season, he moved to 1. FC Nürnberg. His performances at Nürnberg earned him a move to Hannover 96 in 2016. In April 2019, Füllkrug's return to Werder Bremen for the 2019–20 season was announced. In 2022, he was selected for the German squad at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

In his first season at Werder, he suffered from injury problems and played in only 8 games and contributed 4 goals and 1 assist. He played in 19 games and scored 6 goals in the 2020/2021 season when Werder Bremen was relegated. He made his team return to the Bundesliga by making 19 goals and 7 assists in 33 games in the Bundesliga 2 in the 2021/2022 season when he made his main breakthrough. Especially together with his partner in the forward Marvin Ducksch, they scored 38 goals scored by Werder Bremen and contributed 15 assists together.

Niclas Füllkrug listens to "Eye of the Tiger" of Survivor, the famous soundtrack of the iconic movie Rocky, for motivation before the matches.

Now let's come to Fullkrug's World Cup adventure.

Although Füllkrug, who was behind Nkunku in the Bundesliga's top scorer race, was chosen for the German National Team as a surprise by some, we have to say that he deserved it with his performance. Nmecha and Werner's injuries bothered Flick, and instead, he recruited Füllkrug and Dortmund's young star Moukoko. In the final rehearsal before the World Cup, Flick commissioned Füllkrug against Oman in the second half, and he scored the goal that helped his team win. After this performance, questions began to be asked whether it could be the number 9 sought by Germany. But Flick never trusted Füllkrug enough to place him in the starting line-up, and later put him in the game in the group stage of the World Cup. Playing only 69 minutes in total, Füllkrug produced 2 goals and 1 assist. He scored the goal that brought 1 point in the match against Spain, and he did it in just 21 minutes. He played 36 minutes against Costa Rica and contributed 1 goal and 1 assist, but Germany said goodbye to the cup early. Flick's choices, who put Havertz as the center forward in the Japan game and Thomas Müller in the other two games, were frequently criticized. While many people thought that he would resign or be sent, Flick remained in charge of the national team. We will see what will be the fate of Füllkrug in the future of the German National Team, who did great things throughout his career.

So, what distinguishes Fullkrug from other goal scorers? Is he really the physical striker Germany needs? Of course, it is a question mark whether he will be able to perform similarly after Miroslav Klose and Mario Gomez. But Füllkrug is showing the performance that deserves the jersey until the end. He managed to prove to everyone this year that he is not just a center forward. Ball retention and good passing quality also stand out. In addition to its superiority in air balls, it also has a mobile structure in the penalty area. From time to time, he can open up to his wings and create gaps for his friends.

It is very possible for Niclas Füllkrug, who is one of the players we enjoy watching in the Bundesliga this season, to maintain the peak of his career for 2-3 more years if he maintains this performance. At the beginning of the year, we saw Füllkrug among the mentioned strikers as a result of Sebastien Haller's cancer in Borussia Dortmund. However, Dortmund preferred Cologne's 34-year-old striker, Anthony Modeste, partly under the pressure of Terzic. I wonder if they regretted not choosing Fullkrug, it is a matter of curiosity.