Robert Andrich: The Uncapped Midfielder Key to Germany’s World Cup Hopes

Though we still have over 9 months until the World Cup kicks off in the Gulf state of Qatar, it is only natural that Hansi Flick, Germany's national coach, will begin to shift his focus from the mundane qualification procedure towards formulating a tournament-ready roster in the coming weeks.

The Bundestrainer has been scouring the continent in recent months on a sight-seeing tour of all his potential candidates, and an international break in late March will provide the first opportunity in months for the former Bayern manager to preach some of the ideas he has been mulling over.

For a vast portion of the squad a friendly against Israel will be scorned as another laborious 90 minutes in an already relentless calendar year, but for one man in particular, it could be the culminating moment in a meteoric rise through Germany’s lower tiers.

Robert Andrich, Bayer Leverkusen’s 27-year old midfield terrier, is one of those who excelled under the watchful eyes of Flick in Bayer's 5:2 win over Dortmund earlier this month. Not only did his delicate freekick open the door for Die Werkself’s runaway victory, but the Berlin native was a constant nuisance in the center of the park.