RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner is the toast of Saxony these days, the 20-year-old scoring seven Bundesliga goals for the division leaders since his summer move VfB Stuttgart.
Want Timo Werner in your Official Fantasy Bundesliga team? Sign the striker here!
Watch: Timo Werner expresses his joy on becoming the Bundesliga's youngest centurion.
Born and raised in the Bad Cannstatt district of Stuttgart, Werner – the son of former amateur player and coach Günter Schuh – joined VfB when he was six. Showing plenty of promise as he rose through the club's youth ranks, the forward gained further notoriety when scoring 24 goals for Die Roten's Under-19s in the 2012/13 campaign. He made the step up to Stuttgart's senior side the following season.
It was on 1 August 2013 that Werner entered the record books as VfB's youngest player to compete in a competitive game. The striker was 17 years, four months and 25 days old when he lined out for Stuttgart in a UEFA Europa League qualifier away to PFC Botev Plovdiv, a game that ended 1-1. Speaking about the talented prospect at that time, Werner's former coach at Stuttgart, Thomas Schneider, said, "He is a full-blooded forward, he's very clever and he races like a train toward the goal." The club's ex-sporting director Fredi Bobic agreed, adding, "He has exceptional skills that are there for all to see."
It was also against Freiburg that Werner again set a new record, this time becoming the youngest player to score twice in a Bundesliga game at the age of 17 years and 249 days during Stuttgart’s 3-1 triumph at the Schwarzwald-Stadion on 10 November 2013. He currently holds the records for the youngest player to reach 50 and 100 Bundesliga appearances respectively.
Werner blazed a trail through Germany's various international youth teams. The striker enjoyed a sensational start with his nation's Under-15s, scoring a hat-trick on his debut against Poland in 2010. He also struck debut goals for the Under-16s and Under-19s. He was a runner-up at the 2012 UEFA European Under-17 Championship in Slovenia, Germany losing out to the Netherlands in the showpiece.
In 2013, Werner won the Fritz Walter gold medal – an annual award given by the German Football Association to outstanding young players - in the Under-17 category. He was awarded the silver medal in the Under-19 section two years later. Werner scored twice in qualifying as Germany reached the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship finals, Stefan Kuntz's side enjoying a 100% record en route to Poland.
Due to his blistering pace, Werner was attributed the nickname 'Turbo Timo' by the media when he first exploded onto the scene. He has since been clocked at 11.1 seconds over 100m and told the Köln-based Express, "I sometimes ran up mountains with my father. When I was younger it quickly became clear to me that if you want to become a professional, you have to do more."