Lukas Reich Scouting Report – How The 1860 Munich Rightback Could Fill Germany’s Lahm Void

Germany reached their footballing peak on July 13, 2014, on a magical night in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

In the third World Cup final against Argentina, Germany won its fourth title, capping off an amazing six-year span in which it reached at least the semi-finals of every major tournament. 

The golden generation of Germany had a multitude of world-class players, headlined by superstars like Mats Hummels, Toni Kroos, Mesut Özil and Thomas Müller, captained by one of Germanys biggest footballing legends, Philipp Lahm. 

While Lahm never was a spectacular player, he was always one of the smartest people in the game. 

Making 332 caps for FC Bayern and 113 international caps, the right-back and midfielder impressed with his calm demeanour and incredible football IQ. 

He is one of the best right-backs the game has ever seen.

After the 2014 World Cup, Lahm decided to call it quits for the national team and ended his international career at the very top. 

Ten years later, Germany is still trying to find a replacement for their former captain. 

While Joshua Kimmich can play as a right-back and did so again at Euro 2024, he is more of a midfielder. 

Outside of Kimmich, the German coaches have tried the likes of Lukas Klostermann or Jonas Hofmann at right-back, but the nation still craves an actual successor to Lahm. 

Fortunately, after 10 long years, the wait might be over. 

Over the last couple of years, a young right-back has emerged in Erding, a small town near Lahm’s hometown, Munich.

But unlike his predecessor Lahm, Lukas Reich chose FC Bayerns arch-rival TSV 1860 Munich and climbed the ranks of their academy and the German youth national teams. 

Reich will turn 18 in late October 2024, but he has already established himself as the starting right-back in the German third division for 1860 and has become one of the best right-backs in the league. 

It is only a matter of when, not if, Reich will make the next step and play in the Bundesliga and the U21 Team for Germany. 

In this scouting report, we will examine what makes the young right-back so talented, where he still needs to improve, and how he is able to play at such a high level at only 17 years of age.

Lukas Reich Data Profile

First, we are going to take a look at the data regarding Lukas Reich. 

Remember that Reich did not play at the professional level before the start of this season, which means that available statistics are rare and the sample size is small. 

If we look at what right-backs need to be good at, the position has undergone major changes over the last couple of years. 

However, every full-back still needs to be good at one thing: defending. 

Reich has exclusively played as a right-back in a back four for 1860 this season in 3. Liga, which is definitely his best position overall.

So, if we are talking about Reich, we obviously need to talk about his defensive work first.

Lukas Reich Defensive Duels Chart

Here, we can see a diagram showing Lukas Reich compared to other right-backs with a minimum of 500 minutes played in 3. Liga in the 2024/25 season so far. 

As the graph shows, Reich still has significant work to do on the defensive side. 

He is not a complete liability, but he still struggles w