On Monday evening, Niclas Füllkrug received the award of SPORT BILD’s “Rising Star of the Year” for 2023. The 30-year-old accepted the trophy personally at the Hamburger Fischauktionshalle, announcing on stage in his speech: "I benefit a lot from our attacking style of play. We always set out to press high and win the ball in the final third of the pitch – I just try to get myself in the best possible position and score a goal or two.”
Niclas’ Füllkrug’s career-360 over the past season proves how special football can really be. For a long time, there was no way that the goalscorer would have ever been considered an option by national team coach Hansi Flick. Although he was initially dismissed from the running, his new show of quality left him to be an undeniable candidate. As a result, despite all odds, his playing ability and strength of character landed him a spot in Germany’s international squad in November last year.
Although the DFB was eliminated in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, "Fülle" developed into a core component of the team, becoming the fifth ever German national player to score in five consecutive international fixtures. This success streak was also carried into his performances with SV Werder, where Füllkrug became a force to be reckoned with alongside his attacking partner Marvin Ducksch. With a season goal tally of 16, Füllkrug shared the top spot on the goal leader board with Leipzig's Nkunku (now at Chelsea) and became the fifth Werder player to achieve this feat.
The attacker already has his sights set on the future, intending to expand his long list of achievements and play in the 2024 Euros in Germany.
Congratulations to our very own Niclas Füllkrug for winning @SPORTBILD's "Rising Star of the Year" award for 2023 ????
— SV Werder Bremen EN (@werderbremen_en) August 22, 2023
We are so proud ????#werderpic.twitter.com/uQ0MASUc7f
“If I'm going to help the team and continue to score goals, it's definitely important to be the type of player who holds a certain presence and has a strong appetite for scoring goals, compared to being just another striker who is simply another player in the match”, explained Füllkrug. “I feel that I can bring these qualities to the team. Ultimately, there’s no greater honour than playing for the German national team.”
