Bundesliga Preview: The league’s top right-backs

Welcome back to the Bundesliga Preview for 2023/24, where we will be going position by position and ranking the top players that the league has to offer! With goalkeepers and centre backs covered, we move our attention now to the right side of defense. Now, due to systemic incompatibility, right wing-backs and right midfielders in back three formation will (for the most part) be counted as right-backs. This is to minimise the amount of players left in the cold due to being neither a true nor a full-back nor a winger.

20. Pascal Stenzel (VfB Stuttgart)
The German won’t be the starter for Stuttgart but is a decent right wing-back when called upon.

19. Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
Gladbach’s newest American pick-up has been consistent at right-back in both back three and back four formations.

18. Cristian Gamboa (VfL Bochum)
Bochum’s loyal captain is still capable of the occasional moment of brilliance even in his advanced years, just ask Sven Ulreich.

17. Silvan Widmer (FSV Mainz)
The first non-true wing-back on the list, Widmer is more of a marauder down Mainz’s right side, securing the flank defensively as well as providing width in offense.

16. Pavel Kadeřábek (TSG Hoffenheim)
Once one of the best right-backs in the league, Kadeřábek has had a considerate drop in form as the years have worn on. He is still a great option for the team however.

15. Lukas Kubler (SC Freiburg)
Freiburg’s current backup right wing-back is gifted in attack but has some defensive inconsistencies that could be ironed over.

14. Mitchell Weiser (Werder Bremen)
The Bayern Munich academy product carries the Bayern playstyle with him to Bremen, with great combativeness off the ball and smooth technical ability on the ball.

13. Aurélio Buta (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Buta has been a revelation for Frankfurt, completely changing the way Frankfurt play down the right and most importantly covering up the defensive gaps that Ansgar Knauff left in his wake when he was employed at right wing back.

12. Lukas Klostermann (RB Leipzig)
The versatile German is a capable center-back too, but his physical and technical qualities are best utilised at right-back.

11. Josha Vagnoman (VfB Stuttgart)
The Hamburg academy graduate has pace to burn down Stuttgart’s right side, and shows it time and time again with his lung-busting runs both tracking back and bombing forward.

10. Marius Wolf (Borussia Dortmund)
Wolf has often found himself plugging whatever hole Dortmund have in the squad, but is most comfortable playing as a right wing-back in a back three.

9. Josip Juranović (Union Berlin)
Union Berlin’s previous record signing is yet to fully justify his status as a record signing but has shown glimpses of the kind of form that Union purchased him to replicate after his performances at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

8. Kiliann Sildilla (SC Freiburg)
Previously believed to be best employed at center-back, Sildilla has found a new lease on life as a right-back in Freiburg’s 4-2-3-1. Physically impressive and technically proficient.

7. Ridle Baku (VfL Wolfsburg)
The least right-back-y of all the right-backs on this list, Baku has played everywhere from right-back to striker but is currently employed as a right-back in Wolfsburg’s back four.

6. Benjamin Henrichs (RB Leipzig)
Henrichs is a tough player to understand. The German seems to have no real special quality about him, but he is a relentless presser and tireless in his work, putting in a proper shift every time he’s on the pitch, no matter the conditions.

5. Josip Stanišić (Bayer Leverkusen)
Leverkusen’s latest signing (on loan) is the Croatian hybrid center-back/full-back. Stanišić is one of the calmest and smartest defenders in the league, both off the ball with his positioning and decision-making as well as on the ball with his ability to retain the ball and progress play.

4. Christopher Trimmel (Union Berlin)
Union’s longest serving player and captain is eternal. While he may be beginning to show signs of age and Union have lined up their replacement for him in Juranović, Trimmel is still a quality right wing-back.

3. Julian Ryerson (Borussia Dortmund)
Capable of playing on either side of defense and extremely smooth in possession, Ryerson will likely be utilised primarily as a right-back in the foreseeable future of Dortmund’s back four.

2. Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen)
Leverkusen’s marauder down the right flank, Frimpong’s explosive pace and hunger for attack has given great impetus to moves out wide for Xabi Alonso’s team, allowing other players to inhabit more central pockets. Frimpong is a one man chance creation machine.

1. Noussair Mazraoui (Bayern Munich)

Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images

One of my favourite players to watch, Noussair Mazraoui is one of the most graceful attacking full-backs the world has ever seen. He does all the elegant things about football right, with the most deft dribbling and passing in tight spaces, as well as the footballing brain to know when to choose between a speculative pass and a safe one. This is all without compromising on the defensive side of the game, as Mazraoui is more than willing to grit his teeth and win the ball back. While Mazraoui doesn’t use his reading of the game much defensively, he is a monster in one-versus-one situations, often completely shutting down his own flank whilst also providing himself as an offensive threat down the very same flank. It will be simply impossible for Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern Munich to dominate games the way they have without him.

What do you think of our picks? Is there any order you would’ve changed? Do you think Mazraoui can keep his current form going? Let us know in the discussion below.