Germany's strongest back? This pro carries his team alone! | OneFootball

According to the “Statista” database, one third of all adults in Germany suffer from recurring back problems. Even though we don’t want to think so, Noel Futkeu is probably one of them right now. The striker is currently carrying Greuther Fürth all by himself in the 2. Bundesliga. An entire team? How is that even possible?

Strictly speaking, the Clover Leaves do of course still have eleven players on the pitch every game — but without Futkeu, they could have started planning seriously for the 3. Liga months ago. Without a doubt, the 23-year-old is the biggest insurance policy any team in German professional football can have these days

In 33 matches this season, Futkeu has scored 18 goals and set up another five. That means he has been involved in 50 percent of all of Fürth’s goals this season. Most recently, the former Frankfurt player scored in four straight games. In the 3-2 home win against Darmstadt 98 on Matchday 30, Futkeu even bagged a hat-trick. Naturally, he was also there for Fürth in their most important game of the season.

In the Franconian derby just under two weeks ago, Futkeu at least secured a point for his Clover Leaves in a 1-1 draw. He was so impressive that even a legendary striker was raving about him afterwards

“Futkeu is a very exciting striker. He is very mobile, finds his own spaces and is always active. He also has a certain calmness when the ball is moving around. He recognizes when the defender steps out, when he can run into the space behind, when he has to come short for the ball. On top of that, he is very difficult for defenders to defend against.” Miro Klose was visibly impressed by the opposing forward’s abilities. Was Miro already eyeing a possible summer transfer?

📸 Maja Hitij - 2026 Getty Images

If so, we have to burst the 2014 World Cup winner’s bubble. On April 20, 2026, Eintracht Frankfurt announced the striker’s return. After Futkeu moved from Frankfurt’s U21s to Fürth in the summer of 2024, the Hessian club had a buy-back option written into his contract. And that is exactly what SGE activated. For just €1.3 million, Futkeu will return to his former club this summer. Sounds like a perfect story for everyone involved, doesn’t it?

Frankfurt get back a ready-made striker, and Fürth pocket a transfer profit of over one million euros. So where’s the problem? The problem is 17th place in the table. Before today’s game against Fortuna Düsseldorf (kick-off 15:30), the Green-Whites are sitting in a direct relegation spot. A defeat or a draw against Düsseldorf would send them down to the third tier for the first time since 1997. At least a win could, for the time being, lift them into the relegation play-off place.

That would require either Bielefeld to lose to Hertha BSC at the same time, or Fürth to score at least three goals against Fortuna and move ahead of them on goal difference. If both happen, then in the best-case scenario even 15th place is still possible.

“The fact is: we have to win now. This is a very big task for us now,” Noel Futkeu stressed to 'Sportschau' during the week.

Luckily, the striker recently proved that he can score three goals in a game. And let’s be honest: what kind of footballing hero story would it be if a player carried his team on his back all season only for them to go down in the end?

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

📸 Lars Baron - 2025 Getty Images