Born in Germany to Turkish parents, Serdar Taşçı has developed quickly at VfB Stuttgart, winning the Bundesliga in his first full season and becoming a German international shortly afterwards. He is a classy, confident central defender who can also play at right-back.

• Born in Esslingen, close to Stuttgart, he played for the youth teams of SC Altbach and Stuttgarter Kickers before registering with VfB aged 12.

• Played for Stuttgart's amateur side in regional league before breaking through to first-team squad in 2006/07 and making Bundesliga debut on 20 August 2006 against DSC Arminia Bielefeld (3-2); scored his first goal in his next game, six days later, in 3-1 home defeat by BV Borussia Dortmund.

• Made 26 appearances in Stuttgart's title-winning campaign and all six in 2007/08 UEFA Champions League group stage, his debut coming in a 2-1 defeat at Rangers FC.

• Given his Germany Under-21 debut in February 2007, he won his first senior cap, aged 21, in friendly with Belgium in Nuremberg in August 2008; started five 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

• Extended Stuttgart contract to 2014 in August 2009 and scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in 1-1 draw at FC Unirea Urziceni a month later.

Did you know?
Taşçı collected his first full international cap for Germany exactly two years to the day after his Bundesliga debut.