Mateo Klimowicz: Who is the son of former Bundesliga star Diego making a name for himself at VfB Stuttgart?
The son of former Borussia Dortmund, Wolfsburg and Bochum striker Diego Klimowicz - with 70 Bundesliga goals to his name - Mateo is now making a name for himself in the German top-flight at VfB Stuttgart.
bundesliga.com provides you with the lowdown on the Bundesliga's Rookie of the Month for October…
Age: 20
Club: VfB Stuttgart
Position: Attacking midfield
Country: Argentina U20
Key stats
Born on 6 July 2000 in Cordoba, Argentina, Mateo moved with his father - with whom he shares a birthday - to Germany in 2002 when Diego signed for Wolfsburg. That began a seven-year spell in the Bundesliga for the South American family, with Diego spending five years at Wolfsburg, two at Borussia Dortmund and one at VfL Bochum where he made a total of 213 appearances and scored 70 goals.
Mateo, therefore, grew up for some time in Germany and witnessed the Bundesliga at first-hand during his father's stretch in the league. The Klimowicz family returned to Argentina in 2010, though, and Mateo began his own senior footballing journey when he joined the youth ranks of Instituto, in his home city.
Klimowicz progressed through the club and made his professional debut in the Argentine second division in September 2017, aged 17, and scored his first goal in just his second appearance. He played 35 times in total for Instituto before Stuttgart came calling in the summer of 2019.
Klimowicz made three appearances at the start of 2019/20 in Bundesliga 2 before taking the Stuttgart second team by storm, hitting nine goals in as many games. Klimowicz - who is known as "Tetto" in the Stuttgart dressing room - worked his way back into the first team in time to celebrate promotion and has already bagged his first goal in the Bundesliga in a 4-1 win away at Mainz on Matchday 2 of 2020/21.
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Plays a bit like: Julian Brandt
Father Diego describes his son as "a versatile attacker who can play as a false nine, behind a striker, on the wing or in a playmaking role."
In fact, Mateo is almost the opposite style of attacking player that his father was. At 5'8", the 20-year-old prefers to stick low to the ground using his fantastic technique and touch on the ball in tight areas to his advantage. Klimowicz is a dream for any head coach, being both versatile in the positions he can operate and perfectly two-footed.
The youngster also still prefers taking to making, with 17 career goals to his name compared to three assists. Like Brandt at Dortmund, he loves to have the ball at his feet and won't shy away from dribbling at and around opposition defences from whatever position he finds himself in, providing a threat from across the attack.
Did you know?
While his father was playing for the club's first team, Klimowicz made his first genuine steps into the footballing world at Dortmund where he trained in the youth squads as a child during his father's two-year spell at the Signal Iduna Park.
What they're saying
"Mateo has great technique and speed on the ball - it's admirable. But whether he gets to the 70-goal mark depends on many factors. His health, his development and the playing experience he has. I always tell him, statistics are there to be improved and change." - father Diego Klimowicz.
"He makes good runs in behind but also has the ability to drop himself between the lines to pick up the ball in dangerous areas" - Stuttgart head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo.
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