Niklas Süle: the road to retirement from Hoffenheim to Borussia Dortmund via Bayern Munich

May 7, 2026 - 18:30

Frankfurt born, Süle joined local football club Rot-Weiß Walldorf aged 10, before catching the eye of Eintracht Frankfurt. They no doubt regret the decision to allow him to leave three years later for Darmstadt from where he swiftly moved to Hoffenheim’s youth academy at the start of 2010.

By the 2012/13 season and aged just 16, he was already in the club’s second team and training with the first. On 11 May 2013, coach Markus Gisdol put him in the starting XI for the 4-1 loss at home to Hamburg for the first of his 299 Bundesliga appearances after Süle had stood out, though not necessarily only because of his hulking 6’4” physique.

“He’s a real talent,” said then Hoffenheim team manager Alexander Rosen after seeing Süle step up to become a first-team regular in 2013/14, making 25 Bundesliga appearances. “In recent months, he’s proven what a great attitude he already possesses aged 19.”