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Meppen has featured in the careers of some notable footballers over the years. Diego Armando Maradona’s first appearance in an FC Barcelona shirt took place there in 1982, when the Catalan club faced then-Oberliga side SV Meppen. Today, Deniz Undav is another name putting the town in the spotlight.

The fact that the Germany striker was still playing for SV Meppen only six years ago becomes more remarkable with every international appearance and every World Cup goal. “I don’t have time to think about where I was six years ago,” Undav explained inside the stadium in Toronto on Saturday evening, after his two goals against Ivory Coast had fired Germany to victory and into the round of 32 against one of the third-placed teams on Monday, 29th June (22:30 CEST).

“Maybe there’ll be time for that after the World Cup, when I’m lying on a beach. Right now, my full focus is on the tournament,” added Undav, who was later presented with the Player of the Match award by Leon Draisaitl. The Cologne-born Edmonton Oilers star is one of the world’s leading ice hockey players.

“I’m absolutely buzzing”

“I’m absolutely buzzing,” admitted Undav after his brace secured Germany’s 11th successive victory. Nine goals in his last eight internationals, three goals and two assists from the bench in two World Cup matches, a direct goal involvement every 11 minutes and an average of one goal every 52.4 minutes make Undav the man of the moment and the tournament’s current leading goal contributor. “I had to laugh again because they’re even chanting my name in Toronto, not just in Stuttgart,” commented the VfB striker. “I’m enjoying it and taking it all in.”

His Germany teammates and the coach were equally full of praise in Toronto. “Deniz is absolutely ruthless in front of goal,” noted Nadiem Amiri, who had teed up Undav perfectly for the equaliser. “What makes Deniz special is that he doesn’t overthink things,” explained Antonio Rüdiger. “He comes on, does his job and that’s that.” Julian Nagelsmann added: “It’s hard to have a bigger impact on games than he does. He’s a born goalscorer.”

“I took the long route”

“I always said back then that it didn’t matter where I played, I would score goals,” Undav recently recalled when discussing his remarkable journey. “People laughed at me, but I’ve made it now. I’ve scored everywhere I’ve played. There’s a certain sense of vindication in that.” Before his spell with Meppen in the third tier, Undav had played fourth-tier football for TSV Havelse and Eintracht Braunschweig’s reserves in the Regionalliga Nord. He almost gave up on his career before it had even got going.

Undav also completed a mechanical engineering apprenticeship while playing football. “That taught me a lot,” he explained. “During my apprenticeship, I had to get up at 4:30am and take the bus, before walking another 40 minutes from the bus stop to work. After finishing at 2:30pm, I obviously had to make the same journey back. I would then take the bus straight to training and grab a kebab or some pasta along the way. I got home at 9pm, relaxed for an hour and then went to bed. I kept that routine up for two years.”

Undav has scored wherever he has played

It was in Meppen, the scene of Maradona’s visit, that Undav’s career began to take off. He later won promotion to Belgium’s top flight with Royale Union Saint-Gilloise and finished as the league’s top scorer, before joining Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League and going on to play in both the Bundesliga and Champions League with VfB Stuttgart. Wherever he went, Undav kept scoring – and he hasn’t stopped. “I took the long route, so this is an incredible feeling,” commented Undav, who lifted the DFB-Pokal with VfB Stuttgart in 2025. “The setbacks also made me the man I am today.”

Now 29, Deniz Undav is not only a Germany international and an established Bundesliga player, but a real character. Chatty, open, authentic and down to earth, he is the kind of man who once turned up for international duty with a bin bag slung over his shoulder. There’s no difficulty believing him when he says he would still have been happy with his life if things had turned out differently in Meppen. “Yeah, that would have been fine too,” Undav explained during Germany’s time in Winston-Salem. “This is better, obviously, but everyone lives a different life. One thing is important to me, though: I would definitely have been cheering Germany on.”