David Raum: Who is the RB Leipzig and Germany left-back?
David Raum has enjoyed another solid campaign and is part of Julian Nagelsmann's Germany squad for UEFA Euro 2024. bundesliga.com profiles the RB Leipzig left-back...
Age: 26
Club: RB Leipzig
Position: Left-back
Country: Germany (20 caps)
Key stats
Raum was born and raised in Nuremberg and joined local club Tuspo Nuremberg, aged just four. Neighbouring Greuther Fürth - just six miles to the west - signed him a year later. An out-and-out midfielder in his early days, Raum rose through the ranks quickly. He scored 10 goals and provided 12 assists in his final full season with the club's U19s.
By the end of the 2016/17 season, Raum was part of Greuther's first-team squad and made five appearances from left midfield. That number became 20 the following campaign and, by the start of 2019/20, his third full season in Bundesliga 2, he was a mianstay on the left. In 2020/21, Raum took the league apart. He scored just once but assisted a league-high 15 times to help Greuther gain promotion as runners-up.
Several Bundesliga clubs showed interest as a result, and Raum signed on the dotted line with Hoffenheim ahead of the 2021/22 season. His first top-flight assist came in the 3-1 victory against Wolfsburg on week six and - having featured in 32 of TSG's 34 Bundesliga matches - Raum ended the season on 11 assists and three league goals. Just four players collected more provisions league-wide in 2021/22 and he also topped the charts for most crosses from open play, earning a move to Leipzig for his efforts. He initially struggled to match his Hoffenheim form with Die Roten Bullen but has been back to his creative best in 2023/24, popping up with eight assists in the German top flight as Leipzig qualified for the Champions League once more.
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Raum's club has made him a mainstay in Germany's squads, too. He featured in each of the Germany U21 team's games on their way to the European Championship title in the summer of 2021, as well as playing every minute of Germany's campaign at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. He earned his senior international debut with a seven-minute cameo in Germany's 6-0 dismissal of Armenia in 2022 World Cup qualifying and, while he has picked up fewer caps more recently, he is in the squad for the Euros in his home country and has been expected to compete with Maximilian Mittelstädt for a starting berth.
Plays a bit like: David Alaba
Raum's versatility in the positions he has played and - at left-back and central midfield especially - the positions he is used to playing has an air of David Alaba at his Bayern Munich best about it. The majority of Raum's assists in his final Bundesliga 2 campaign with Fürth were from passes rather than crosses, as may have been expected from his left wing-back position.
That midfield past means that Raum is very comfortable on the ball and has the smarts to know when to come inside or when to race down the flank. He possesses the vision to both find his attacking teammates within tight spaces as well as with crosses. Raum is also an aggressive attacking player, using his speed and strength to take on opposition full-backs.
Did you know?
Raum was a forward in his youth, and took some convincing to make the switch to full-back.
"I played as a centre-forward or on the right wing until I was 19, but hardly played," he admitted.
"No striker wants to play in defence, but after my initial anger, I began to see how good it was and that I had the qualities to play there."
What they're saying
"David is particularly strong on the left. He brings a certain freshness and sharpness." - Former Germany manager Hansi Flick
"David has developed brilliantly in the past two years and established himself as a regular for club and country during his first season in the Bundesliga. He's quick, dynamic, can strike the ball and is extremely dangerous from set pieces and crosses." - Leipzig technical director Christopher Vivell
"David is a highly talented and extremely fast player with a strong left foot who has developed into one of the most sought-after full-backs in Germany thanks to his outstanding performance this season." - Hoffenheim sporting director Alexander Rosen on Raum's 2021/22 campaign
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