Maximilian Beier: Who is Hoffenheim's in-form forward set for Germany senior status?
Maximilian Beier is going from strength to strength as he racks up the Bundesliga goals for club side Hoffenheim. bundesliga.com looks back over the 21-year-old striker's story so far...
Data correct as of 14 March 2024
Age: 21 (born 17 October 2002)
Club: Hoffenheim
Position: Striker
Country: Germany (5 U21 caps / 2 goals)
Key stats
Beier dazzled his way through to the youth ranks of Energie Cottbus before moving to Hoffenheim as a prolific prospect at just 15. By the end of the 2018/19 campaign, the Brandenburg native was already displaying his immense goalscoring abilities, finishing as the local South/Southwest division top scorer with 18 goals.
The following season, Beier made his Bundesliga debut against Freiburg. In doing so, he became Hoffenheim's youngest-ever Bundesliga debutant, taking over from current Borussia Dortmund defender Niklas Süle. The then 17-year-old Beier quickly added five more German top-flight appearances to his name while he was still knocking in the goals for the club's U19s.
A first professional contract came in time for the 2020/21 season, while Beier repaid his team's faith by netting a brace in a UEFA Europa League encounter against Gent. In order to increase his high-level game time, Hoffenheim club officials moved to send Beier out on loan to Hannover in the German second tier. That loan would end up lasting two seasons, with Beier scoring 15 times and providing seven assists in his 68 games with Die Roten, earning him a new deal with his parent club.
One more contract extension was agreed in October 2023, with Beier agreeing terms on a new agreement that tied him to the PreZero Arena until June 2027. News of that deal followed an incredible start by the forward to Hoffenheim's latest campaign.
The versatile striker burst out of the blocks in 2023, scoring in four Bundesliga games in a row and a total of six goals in seven games. Back-to-back braces in victories against Dortmund and Werder Bremen in February and March of this year helped to make Beier the top scorer in the Bundesliga between Matchdays 17-25. He also claimed the February Rookie of the Month award for his efforts.
Indeed, it's that sort of form that has brought talk of a possible appearance at EURO 2024, which Germany are hosting. Beier has already made strides with Germany at U17 and 21 level, netting on his debut for the latter in a friendly against Ukraine in August 2023, and was called up to the March 2024 senior squad.
Plays a bit like: Thomas Müller
His physicality mirroring that of Müller's lithe frame, Beier makes up for a lack of muscle with an in-game intelligence that might one day match that of the great Bayern Munich Raumdeuter. Hoffenheim's nimble forward has an uncanny ability to find himself in the right place at the right time and as well as managing to score tidy goals under pressure, is also unselfish when it comes time to assist a better-placed teammate. Sound familiar?
Watch: Beier named the February 2024 Rookie of the Month
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Did you know?
Away from the football pitch, Beier is a big darts fan. He told ran in a January 2024 interview: "In winter I think about darts... I have a dartboard at home, but it's a bit dusty. I play with my buddy a lot."
Beier went on to acknowledge the impact of fellow rookie sensation Luke Littler, before revealing Dutch great Michael van Gerwen is his hero with the arrows, although he's got a way to go before he can challenge the best players on tour, saying he's topping out at 140 currently.
What they're saying
"Above all, it is important for him to even get into positions from which he can shoot. He can manage that thanks to his dynamism and technique. You either have those genes or you don't, and Maxi has those genes to score goals." - TSG boss Pellegrino Matarazzo
"I played against him in my first years as FC Bayern's U17 coach and his qualities were immediately apparent. He runs an incredible amount, works for the team and rewards himself with goals. I'm sure Julian Nagelsmann has him on his radar." - Germany great Miroslav Klose
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