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A look at German footballers abroad

Jonathan HardingMay 16, 2016

As domestic football comes to an end around Europe, DW takes a look at how Germany's best players abroad fared across the continent's top leagues, from Premier League winners to history makers.

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Großbritannien Fussball Robert Huth
Image: Getty Images/M. Regan

No German footballer outside of the Bundesliga had a better year than Leicester City's Robert Huth. Few would have predicted the 31-year-old central defender would have become an integral part of a Premier League winning side, but the Berlin-born Huth missed just three games in the club's incredible title-winning season. Huth's personal highlight came in the form of two goals in the 3-1 win away at Manchester City on matchday 25, but his third Premier League title (two with Chelsea) will always be his most special.

Elsewhere in England's top flight, Mesut Özil's Arsenal pipped Tottenham to second spot on the final matchday. The Germany star had a brilliant season, finishing with 19 assists - one short of the league's record held by former Arsenal player Thierry Henry. In total, Özil created 146 chances for his teammates - more than any other player in the league since 2003/04. Teammate Per Mertesacker wore the captain's armband for the majority of the season when fit, but struggled for regular game time in the final stretch.

Fußball Arsenal vs. Liverpool Mesut Oezil
Özil was simply superb for Arsenal this seasonImage: picture alliance/AP/Bogdan Maran

Bastian Schweinsteiger's first year at Manchester United didn't go to plan as the midfielder was plagued by a knee injury. Emre Can enjoyed a better year, growing into a leading part of Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool midfield - and won Liverpool's Young Player of the Season as well as the People's Choice award at the German Football Ambassador awards. The 22-year-old is also hoping to return to fitness so he can lead Liverpool to Europa League glory in the final against Sevilla on May 18. Jan Kirchhoff was part of Sunderland's successful fight against relegation, while Stoke City's Philipp Wollscheid was an integral part of the club's defense and helped them to a top-ten finish.

Titles for both ter Stegen and Kroos?

In Spain, Barcelona's goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen celebrated winning La Liga, despite only making seven league appearances. The club's Champions League goalkeeper was halted in the semifinals after defeat to La Liga rivals, Atletico Madrid. Despite missing out on the league title by just one point, Real Madrid's Toni Kroos still has a chance to win the Champions League. Domestically, Kroos became the first German with 10 assists in the league since Özil in 2012/13.

World Cup winner Shkodran Mustafi endured an underwhelming season with Valencia. Despite making 44 appearances, Mustafi couldn't help Valencia finish higher than 12th in La Liga or third in their Champions League group. Heiko Westermann's Real Betis finished 10th, but the former Hamburg defender's season petered out after injury.

Klose says goodbye in style

In Italy, Sami Khedira celebrated Juventus' historic fifth consecutive Serie A title, but an injury-ridden season has left him fighting to be fit for Juventus' Italian Cup final against A.C. Milan on May 21. It was a special season for 37-year-old Miroslav Klose, who said goodbye after five years with Lazio. In his final game, Lazio wore special shirts with the words "Danke Miro" (thank you Miro) written on them. Klose even scored a penalty in his last game, taking his final tally to 63 goals in 171 appearances for the club. Antonio Rüdiger missed just a handful of games in helping Roma to a third-place finish in Serie A, experience that will have certainly boosted his chances of being in Germany's Euro 2016 squad.

In France, Kevin Trapp impressed in his first season at PSG. The Paris club won the league with a monstrous 96 points, and are also in the French Cup final (May 21). In his 46 appearances, Trapp kept the same number of cleansheets as goals he conceded (25). Despite receiving criticism, Trapp's performances in the Champions League showed his quality.

Mario Gomez and Andreas Beck lifted the Süper Lig title in Turkey with Besiktas - the club's first in seven years. For Gomez it has been a particularly special season, as he looks set to also pick up the Golden Boot after scoring 26 goals. After leaving Bayern, Gomez struggled to find form and fitness but since arriving in Turkey he has gone from strength to strength. Lukas Podolski's Galatasaray finished in a lowly sixth, but Podolski ended the year with 12 goals in the league and might well win a trophy yet if Galatasaray can beat arch-rivals Fenerbahce in the Turkish Cup final on May 26.