Maximilian Eggestein
CDM
Germany29 years
Showing2026/27 seasonAll official competitions
Preferred Positions
Last 24 months · all competitions
CDM
Defensive midfieldMain
7,879 min · 88 apps · 88 starts
Squad importance
Current squad importance over the club’s last 40 recorded competitive games in this spell, including previous seasons. Starts and minutes contribute 70%; performance contributes 30%. Absences reduce the score gradually, with less weight when a player is outside the matchday squad.Current role at SC Freiburg · independent of the season filter
Star
Involvement99%
Performance39%
Through the match on 5 Nov 2026. Refreshed daily.
Profile
Career & playing style
Maximilian Eggestein's work in midfield is often about protecting the space a team leaves when it attacks. In a 2026 Europa League move against Celta Vigo, UEFA's technical observers identified him as the No. 8 supplying balance while seven Freiburg players pushed forward. That is a more useful picture than calling him simply defensive: he gives teammates room to advance without abandoning the middle.
His route to that responsibility began near Hanover. Eggestein has recalled starting at TSV Schloß Ricklingen, moving to TSV Havelse and entering Werder Bremen's academy residence at 14. Bremen took him through its youth sides and into the first team. He made his Bundesliga debut as a substitute against Paderborn on 29 November 2014, before his 18th birthday.
Germany's under-21 side gave him a different test. Eggestein started the 2019 European Under-21 Championship final against Spain and was replaced late in a 2-1 defeat. Freiburg also recorded his first senior Germany call-up that March, which was a selection rather than evidence of a senior appearance.
Freiburg signed him from Bremen in August 2021. The club's sporting director valued his calm decisions and his habit of arriving in scoring positions, qualities that sit alongside the running for which Eggestein was already known. His Freiburg role is therefore about both continuity and timing: staying available for the next phase of play, then recognising when a forward run is safe.
A prominent scoring moment followed in May 2022. Eggestein put Freiburg ahead against RB Leipzig in the club's first DFB-Pokal final, scoring with a low shot in the 19th minute. Freiburg held the lead until the second half but eventually lost on penalties. The goal made him a scorer in a landmark team occasion, not a cup winner.
Freiburg's 2025/26 Europa League run offered another measure of his place in the side. Eggestein started the May 2026 final against Aston Villa, which Freiburg lost 3-0. UEFA's Technical Observer Group subsequently chose him for its Europa League Team of the Season. The recognition was individual, while the runner-up finish belonged to Freiburg. It gave another marker to the midfield work UEFA had singled out during the same run.