SC Freiburg's Philipp Treu has revealed that Joshua Kimmich of Bayern Munich impressed him the most in the Germany national team.
“As a kid and teenager, I always looked up to him as an inspiration," the 25-year-old said during an interview with BILD.
"It was impressive to get to know him as a person, but also to watch him on the pitch. It starts right from the warm-up.
"He’s already sweating while riding the bike and always gives 100 percent. You always hear about how extremely ambitious he is.
"You hear how badly he wants to win – but experiencing that for myself was really cool. I can also take that mentality into my own life.
“He wants to win every game and always get the very best out of himself. That makes him a role model for many,” explained Treu.
Now doubt these will come as words of slight comfort for Kimmich, who recently has been called into question regarding his role for Germany.