In the reverse of our feature studying the world's leading wingers for their attacking threat from wide, we continue our look at the leading players in the same positions for their defensive contribution to their respective sides, moving onto the Bundesliga this time around.


All figures shown relate to the performances each player made from wide positions only and are based on WhoScored.com ratings for defensive contribution, including tackles and interceptions per game. Players analysed all played 10 games or more from wide positions last season.


Our list sees an inclusion from league champions Borussia Dortmund as well as Hannover 96 who capped a fantastic season in Germany with a place in the Europa League by finishing 4th. Two Freiburg players also make their way onto the leader board proving that former manager Robin Dutt, who has left to take over at Leverkusen, expected plenty of industry from his wide men last season. As in the leader board for the league’s best attacking wingers, the Bundesliga's bottom side from last term, St.Pauli, are again represented in our top 5.

 

Bundesliga's Top 5 Wingers for Defensive Contribution


Lars Stindl
Hannover 96 enjoyed their best season in Germany's top-flight since their return to the Bundesliga in 2002 by finishing 4th- a remarkable achievement having placed 15th just a year beforehand. The side was helped in no small part by young midfielder Lars Stindl, who made 18 of his 23 starts in the competition from wide last term. The 22-year-old showed excellent work rate in both attack and defence to finish top of our rankings in 6 of the 10 categories analysed. Stindl made the best defensive contribution of any winger in the league by leading the way in terms of tackles per game with 3.33. His score of 2 interceptions per game also topped our leader board, though his attributes going forward were also list leaders. Having finished the season with 2 goals and 3 assists from wide, the German also picked up the highest key passes per game score of our top 5 with 1.39.


The Hannover man finished in the top 3 in every category, showing no real weaknesses and proving himself as one of the Bundesliga's finest wing prospects. A 21% cross success rate is a decent figure having attempted an average of 1.83 deliveries a game, while a dribble success rate of 33% is also not bad at all for a man of Stindl's age, having attempted 2.72 dribbles a match.


Jakub Blaszczykowski
25-year-old winger Blaszczykowski played somewhat of a bit part in Borussia Dortmund's title winning campaign, though his contribution should not be overlooked, particularly in a defensive sense. The Poland international started 15 games, primarily from the right wing, and helped out with 2.4 tackles and 1.53 interceptions per game. His leading statistics lay in his crossing however, having attempted a list high of 2.8 deliveries per game, as well as completing another leading score of 29% accuracy with said deliveries, a feat that none of his contenders came close to.


Reasons why the Polish midfielder may not have played a bigger part for Dortmund last season may be represented by his ability, or lack there of, to contribute to goals. Having assisted just 1 goal from wide and scoring just 1 also, Blaszczykowski made a rather meagre 0.87 key passes per game. His dribble success rate of 31% is by no means poor but may need to be improved upon if the winger is to stamp down a starting berth as Dortmund look to defend their title next season.


Anton Putsila
Versatile midfielder Anton Putsila made 7 starts each from centre midfield, left midfield and right midfield, giving him a combined total of 14 appearances from wide for Freiburg last term. The Belorussian made the second highest amount of tackles per game of our top 5 with 2.5 and also contributed a further 1.57 assists. However, he not only serves a purpose defensively but also offers a significant threat in terms of his dribbling. Having attempted 3.14 runs at opponents per game from wide, the 24-year-old was successful with a highly impressive 51% of his dribbles.


Despite possessing a real talent in his trickery, Putsila proved less successful when it came to his goal contribution, failing to find the net all season and weighing in with a solitary assist from the wing having made just 0.71 key passes per game. However, his weakest attribute for a wide man is undoubtedly his crossing. In attempting just 0.93 crosses per game, the Freiburg man reached his target with a pretty dismal 8% of his deliveries, showing a real need for improvement in this facet of his game.


Yacine Abdessadki
The experienced figure of Yacine Abdessadki is the second Freiburg man to make our top 5, though he played somewhat of a limited role in his side's 9th place finish after being hampered by an injury which ended his involvement in mid-March. Making 12 of his 20 starts from wide, the Moroccan international made the second highest amount of interceptions with 1.75 per game to accompany his commendable figure of 2.17 tackles per game. He also ranked second for crosses per game having attempted 2.58 but led the way with 86% when it came to his dribble success rate.


The France-born midfielder's excellent figure when it came to beating his opponents was, in no small part, down to the fact that he attempted just 7 dribbles all season from the wing, beating his man on all but one occasion. The 30-year-old's lack of real threat going forward is more comprehensively supported by the fact that he failed to score or assist in all of his games last season, from wide or otherwise; the only of our top 5 to do so. His evident weakness in terms of his goal contribution is further proven by a list low of 0.67 key passes per game.


Florian Bruns
31-year-old German winger Florian Bruns was only a bit part player in failing to prevent St.Pauli from relegation last season, but did his bit in a defensive sense. He made the 5th most tackles per game of all the wingers in the league during his 11 starts with 2.09 as well as stepping in with 1.64 interceptions. Bruns failed to lead the way in any of our categories but did rank third for cross accuracy with 20% of his 1.36 crosses per game reaching their target. His best finish came having ranked second in terms of key passes with 1.09, although he was rewarded with just 1 assist.


Where his list-low figure when it came to tackles per game could not be frowned upon, Bruns' score in terms of his dribble success rate was far from great. Having beaten his man with just 19% of his 1.55 attempts to take on opponents per game, the St.Pauli man is bottom of our top 5 by some distance.