He made history in the Bundesliga before winning the UEFA Champions League with Chelsea - now Timo Werner is back for a second bite of the cherry at RB Leipzig. bundesliga.com presents 10 things on the turbo-charged Germany forward...

In March 2018, the then-22-year-old made history as the youngest player in Bundesliga history to reach 150 top-flight appearances – a feat in keeping with the turbo-charged career of the former Stuttgart forward.

1) Fastest feet first

Werner produced 23 goals and 21 assists in 89 matches for Chelsea, getting his hands on the Champions League in 2021, as well as the 2022 UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. He also made history as the club's fastest Champions League scorer with his goal after only 82 seconds against Zenit in the 2021/22 groups.

2) Stuttgart starting blocks

Before he was tearing it up at Leipzig and Chelsea, Werner was making waves with boyhood club VfB Stuttgart. After joining Die Schwaben aged six, he wrote his name into Cannstadt folklore as the club's youngest ever debutant and goalscorer. He later became the Bundesliga's youngest player to score a brace and reach 50 appearances – all before the age of 19.

3) Mama knows best

An interview with Werner — in either English or German — is an entertaining and informative experience, not one plagued by the usual football clichés. For that, you can partly thank his mother as she pushed Timo to finish school, and he passed his final exams!

"I could have focused solely on football, but my mother really wanted me to finish school," he explained to bundesliga.com. "I never considered not doing it to be honest. That wouldn't have been smart. In hindsight I'm quite proud that I managed to finish school and kick on with my professional football career."

4) Destined for great things

His school days behind him, Werner won the Fritz Walter gold medal in 2013 – an annual award given by the German Football Association to outstanding young players – in the U17 category. He was awarded the silver medal behind Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah in the U19 bracket two years later.

5) Top striker but no top chef

There is one thing he still has not learned how to do. "Takeaway is a good friend of mine," admits Werner, who is not going to win any plaudits for his work in the kitchen. During the COVID-19 lockdowns in England, he acknowledged he only ever rustled up a single dish: Pasta, ham, and ketchup.

He does, however, have a very clear idea of what he doesn't like. "Sometimes when I see what my English teammates eat, I would never eat that," he said. "Scrambled eggs with ketchup…what is that?"

6) Leipzig rocket fuel

After experiencing relegation with Stuttgart in 2016, Werner moved to Leipzig where his talent mushroomed almost overnight. He was the Bundesliga's highest-scoring German on 21 goals as promoted RBL gatecrashed the top four, finishing second behind champions Bayern Munich and qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.

Werner (c.) helped Germany to lift the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, and even took home the tournament's golden boot after contributing three goals and two assists. - 2017 Getty Images

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11

Timo

Werner

RB Leipzig

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7) A Super Mario fan

Though he is some way off the 71 goals Miroslav Klose netted to finish his career as Germany's all-time leading scorer, Werner is closing in on the 31 his childhood idol Mario Gomez struck.

"When I was 11, 12, I used to have posters of Mario on my wall," Werner admitted of the former Stuttgart and Bayern Munich forward, whom he ended up pushing out of the national team squad. "Suddenly, there I was with Mario giving me high-fives and wishing me good luck on playing for Germany instead of him."

8) If the Schuh fits…

As well as Gomez, Werner attributes much of his success to his father Günther Schuh, a former winger for 07 Ludwigsburg and Stuttgarter Kickers.

"When I was little, my Dad would pass me the ball and I would take shots at goal," recalled Werner. "First he would play it to my right foot, and we'd work on my technique with that, and then to my left. We even ran up mountains together. I learnt quickly that if you want to become a professional, you have to do more."

Watch: Timo Werner's top 5 Bundesliga goals so far

9) Need for speed

Everyone knows that Werner is one of the fastest players in the business. "There's no recipe for it," Werner said of his eye-watering speed – he's been clocked at 11.11 seconds over 100 metres. "The quickest players just know how to do it automatically."

But he admits he would happily go even faster.

"If I could decide whether to be a Formula One driver or a professional footballer, I don't know which one I would pick," he said, backtracking only a little when it comes to roaring down the track at nearly 200 mph. "I don't like danger, but I think it's fun. Maybe I'd be a bit slower than the others."

10) Country gentleman

Werner joined Leipzig following Stuttgart's relegation in 2016, and his goalscoring form for Die Roten Bullen, which included 21 league strikes in his club's historic first top-flight season, earned him his maiden senior cap for Germany in a friendly win over England in March 2017. He then joint-top scored at the Confederations Cup later that summer, helping Jogi Löw's men win the tournament.

He has now tallied over 50 caps, and boasts an impressive average of almost one goal every other game for his country, and featured at both the 2018 FIFA World Cup and UEFA EURO 2020.

"I really enjoy playing football, no matter where I'm playing. There are differences in the style of play between football at Chelsea and the national team," he said in March 2022 when asked to define why he scores more from country than club. "Maybe the one at the national team suits me better. Here, I always have scoring chances, I can score goals."

About the clubs

RB Leipzig

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