Bundesliga Team of the Season so far

Dec 20, 2012 9:00:00 AM

Goal.com picks out the best talent from the first 17 rounds of matches in Germany's top flight, with Bayern Munich dominating our selection

We have reached the halfway point in the Bundesliga season, and so far the division has served up a footballing treat.

The standout side have been Bayern Munich, who have enjoyed a record-breaking start to the campaign and go into the winter hiatus nine points clear at the top. Unsurprisingly, the Bavarians are heavily represented in Goal.com International's best XI from Germany for the first 17 matchdays.

In goal, we have Rene Adler. Frozen out at at Bayer Leverkusen, the Germany international has enjoyed a renaissance at Hamburg, putting in a number of fine performances for Thorsten Fink's side, despite their leaky defence.

At the back, we have our two first Bayern stars. Dante moved to the Allianz Arena from Borussia Monchengladbach and has since cemented himself in the first team, while Philipp Lahm has been as dependable as ever at full-back. They are joined by Gonzalo Castro, instrumental for Leverkusen this year, and Timm Klose, who has starred for Nurnberg.

The midfield five is dominated by FCB. The only player who does not represent the Roten is Aaron Hunt of Werder Bremen. Alongside him we have Toni Kroos, who finally seems to have found his best form on a consistent basis.

Slightly ahead of them stand Thomas Muller, who looks a completely different player to last season, Xherdan Shaqiri, who has made a seamless start to his Bundesliga career, and Franck Ribery, the star of the season so far, directly contributing to 11 goals in 12 games.

The division's surprise package has been Mainz, and star striker Adam Szalai leads the line thanks to his fantastic form for the club.

ADLER

Avg Rating: 3.53

HAMBURG

Games: 17 Cln Sheets: 6

CASTRO	KLOSE	DANTE	LAHM

Avg Rating: 3.26	Avg Rating: 3.18	Avg Rating: 3.18	Avg Rating: 3.09

LEVERKUSEN	NURNBERG	BAYERN	BAYERN
Games: 17 Cln Sheets: 6	Games: 16 Cln Sheets: 11	Games: 17 Cln Sheets: 11	Games: 17 Cln Sheets: 11

HUNT	KROOS

Avg Rating: 3.46	Avg Rating: 3.41

WOLFSBURG	BAYERN
Games: 15 Goals: 6	Games: 17 Goals: 6

MULLER	SHAQIRI	RIBERY

Avg Rating: 3.41	Avg Rating: 3.40	Avg Rating: 3.92

BAYERN	BAYERN	BAYERN
Games: 16 Goals: 9	Games: 12 Goals: 1	Games: 12 Goals: 4

SZALAI

Avg Rating: 3.53

MAINZ

Games: 17 Goals: 9

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