A European champion at Under-21 level in 2009, Mats Hummels distinguished himself during Borussia Dortmund's 2010/11 Bundesliga title triumph, making 32 starts and contributing five goals. Commanding and resilient, the former FC Bayern München trainee is primed for a regular berth in Joachim Löw's Nationalmannschaft.

• Hummels came up through the youth ranks at Bayern, making his Bundesliga debut as a substitute on the last day of the 2006/07 season in a 5-2 win against 1. FSV Mainz 05.

• Made no further league appearances for Bayern before moving on a half-season loan to Dortmund in January 2008; impressed sufficiently with the Schwarzgelben to land a four-year contract 12 months later.

• First capped at U21 level by Germany in March 2007, he represented his country at the 2009 finals in Sweden, starring on his only start − in the final against England, which brought a 4-0 win.

• Developed an outstanding central defensive partnership with Neven Subotić at Dortmund under coach Jürgen Klopp, particularly impressing in 2010/11 as they stormed to the Bundesliga title, retaining it 12 months later.

• Won his first senior cap for Germany on 13 May 2010 as a substitute in a friendly against Malta, and scored his maiden goal for the team two weeks before UEFA EURO 2012 in a warm-up match versus Switzerland.

UEFA honours
UEFA European Under-21 Championship: winner 2009