A highly promising young German international, Christian Träsch has developed his game impressively at VfB Stuttgart. Although renowned as a right-back, he can also play on the left and has increasingly been deployed in midfield.

• Born in the Bavarian town of Ingolstadt, he came up through the youth ranks of TSV 1860 München.

• Played regional league football for 1860 München and at the same level for Stuttgart following his transfer in July 2007.

• Made his Bundesliga debut on 3 February 2008 in 4-1 defeat by FC Schalke 04 – his only appearance that season.

• Scored on first appearance of 2008/09 – in 4-1 win against Werder Bremen − and ended campaign as the team's first-choice right-back, replacing Mexican international Ricardo Osorio; switched to midfield in autumn 2009 and scored his first UEFA Champions League goal from that position in 3-1 defeat of FC Unirea Urziceni on Matchday 6.

• Made Germany debut on 2 June 2009, coming on as 79th-minute substitute for Andreas Hinkel in a 7-2 win against United Arab Emirates.

Did you know?
Träsch's first European club match was a 2-0 defeat at Sevilla FC in the opening group game of Stuttgart's 2008/09 UEFA Cup campaign.