Robin Hack: Who is Borussia Mönchengladbach's ultra-versatile attacker?
Borussia Mönchengladbach may not have been firing on all cylinders last season, but that had nothing to do with Robin Hack, whose outstanding performances for the Foals in 2023/24 make the former Germany Under-21 international one to watch in the coming campaign.
Bundesliga.com puts the 25-year-old under the spotlight.
Stats correct as of 28 July 2024
Age: 25 (born 27 August 1998)
Club: Borussia Mönchengladbach
Position: Attacker
Country: Germany U21 (five caps/three goals)
Key stats
Born in Pforzheim, South-East Germany, Hack took his first steps in earnest in the game with the youth sides at FC Calmbach and Karlsruher.
When Hoffenheim came calling, things took another step up. Playing mainly as a striker in his early years, switching to the wing proved a masterstroke with the Sinsheimers, with Hack taking his game to the next level out wide.
The 2014/15 season in particular could hardly have gone better for the then 16-year-old Hack, who weighed in with anastonishing 26 goal involvements for Hoffenheim's U17s.
Watch: Hack in full flow with Gladbach
While seemingly at the height of his powers, the worst possible news came when Hack suffered a horrific leg break in a game against Ingolstadt that kept the teenager on the sidelines for eight months. The injury forced him to miss out on the U17 World Cup with Germany but it made Hack determined to force his way back to full fitness without losing an ounce of his huge promise.
His hard work paid off with a call-up to Julian Nagelsmann's senior Hoffenheim squad ahead of the 2017/18 campaign. Hack made a goalscoring Bundesliga debut against Freiburg on 1 October 2017 and he went on to feature against Borussia Dortmund and Stuttgart that same season while also gaining UEFA Europa League experience.
His performances earned a move to second-tier Nuremberg, where he was guaranteed more game time and he repaid the faith shown in him by netting ten goals from the wing in his first season with Der Club, form that would help the side stave off relegation. Hack had nine goal involvements in his next season, despite suffering several injury setbacks. It all meant he was heading back to the Bundesliga when Arminia Bielefeld came calling.
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Die Blauen soon suffered relegation to the second tier and - despite Hack's best efforts with 11 goals and nine assists the following season - they went down again for a second successive time. That was the cue for Gladbach to make their move for a player who had represented Germany at various youth levels and who once scored a hat-trick for the nation's Under-21s.
In an outstanding 2023/24 campaign for the 25-year-old, he lifted what was a lacklustre season for the Foals by scoring 10 Bundesliga goals.
Plays a bit like: Chris Führich
Stuttgart star Führich recently became a Germany international and got game time at UEFA Euro 2024 based on his feats in the domestic season 2023/24. Boasting many of the same attributes as Führich, Hack has his inspiration in a player with whom he also shares attacking versatility, the ability to score eye-catching goals and an immense on-field work rate.
Did you know?
Hack's aforementioned leg break - a fractured tibia and fibula he sustained against Ingolstadt at 17 - resulted in the player entering rehab for a week and losing eight kilos of muscle mass during his recovery.
What they're saying
"Robin Hack is a dynamic attacker who provides a goal-threat. His personal development in the past few years has been good and we see a lot of potential in him." - Gladbach sporting director Roland Virkus speaks at Hack's unveiling at the club in 2023
"I can’t wait to run in Borussia-Park and celebrate victories with the fans. I am extremely happy to be here." - Hack expressing his delight at signing for the Foals last year
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