Augsburg and Freiburg have recently earned a reputation as two of the toughest nuts to crack in the Bundesliga. While their defensive solidity is the fruit of a team effort, goalkeepers Finn Dahmen and Noah Atubolu have been central to their teams’ fortunes, with both currently in the middle of record runs...

Legendary Scottish manager Sir Alex Ferguson once said: “Attacks win games, but defences win titles”. And, while the 05ers and the Breisgau Brazilians are not involved in a title race, their strong positions in the table wouldn't have been possible without a sturdy and reliable backline.

The back fours have been impressive, but the goalkeepers have earned the most plaudits, and rightly so. For Augsburg, Dahmen has helped his team embark on an nine-game unbeaten run that has moved them away from the relegation zone and has them looking up the table rather than over their shoulders.

Watch: Dahmen keeps out Dortmund

Dahmen, who turns 27 later this month, has had a rollercoaster 2024/25 campaign. He conceded 52 goals in 31 league games last term, and earned an unwanted Bundesliga record by playing his first 35 top-flight matches in Germany without a clean sheet. In fact, he did eventually manage two, but Augsburg brought in Nediljko Labrović last summer, and the Croatian was immediately installed as Jess Thorup’s No.1.

Dahmen had to wait until after the winter break before being given a chance to impress on Matchday 16, yet he has grasped the opportunity with both hands. While Augsburg suffered a 1-0 loss to VfB Stuttgart in Dahmen’s opening match, Die Fuggerstädter haven't lost since, going on a club-record run of nine games without defeat.

Opposing teams have found no way past Augsburg's Finn Dahmen recently - IMAGO/Philippe Ruiz

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There have been seven clean sheets along the way, with Augsburg not conceding in any of their last five top-flight outings. That means that the shot-stopper has not had to pick the ball out his net for 523 minutes – the longest streak in the club’s history.

Following the most recent of those five clean sheets - a 1-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund - Thorup had plenty of praise for his resurgent star. “With Finn, you've seen in recent weeks what confidence means for a goalkeeper, and together with the whole team, we're doing very well against the ball at the moment,” he said.

“I'm happy for Finn because it wasn't easy for him last year. He has put in some excellent performances since the winter break.”

Freiburg’s Atubolu, meanwhile, is on an even longer run without conceding. Not since Min-jae Kim headed past him in the 54th minute of his team’s Matchday 19 clash with Bayern Munich has the 22-year-old been beaten, meaning he has avoided conceding in each of his side’s last six outings.

That adds up to 576 minutes – again a club record, and a number that sees him closing in on the all-time Bundesliga top 10. Should Atubolu prevent high-flying Mainz from scoring in the opening 26 minutes this coming weekend, he will overtake Uli Stein, who went 602 minutes without conceding in 1985/86 for Hamburg, at the bottom of that list. A seventh consecutive clean sheet would move him into seventh.

Like Dahmen, Atubolu is a complete goalkeeper, but he is particularly adept at saving penalties, having kept out the previous four spot-kicks he has faced. One of those came during this goalless run, too, as he denied André Silva in Freiburg’s 5-0 victory over Werder Bremen in February.

Watch: Atubolu blocks out Bremen

Thanks to a series of solid displays since making the spot between the sticks his own at the start of 2023/24, Atubolu is in line for a Germany call-up. After all, he has 15 U21 caps and, following Manuel Neuer’s international retirement last summer, the position is seemingly still up for grabs. The youngster, who still has plenty of time ahead of him to hone his craft, has done more than enough to be in contention, at least.

His club captain, Vincenzo Grifo, certainly believes so. “My ‘little brother’ absolutely deserves it,” he said. “If he carries on like this, remains hungry, and keeps working as he is now, I’m pretty sure he’ll get his chance."

Both men still have some way to go to match the historic longest run without conceding, set by Stuttgart’s Timo Hildebrand in 2003/04 – his run started the previous campaign – while Bayern's Neuer twice features in the top five. On this form, though, you would not bet against either of them coming close.