Late at night in the catacombs of the Johan Cruyff Arena, a sequence unfolded that neatly captured Philipp Treu's rise. Some of the ceiling lights in the mixed zone were out, leaving the room in gloom and forcing staff to use separate spotlights. When Treu arrived for his interview after the 1-1 draw against the Netherlands, he first stood slightly to one side in the shadows before reporters called him into the light.
That was true in every sense. In Jürgen Klopp's combative but, in footballing terms, mixed debut as Germany coach, the 25-year-old SC Freiburg right-back emerged as the big winner. "I'd like to single out Pippo, Philipp Treu," said his fellow defender Jonathan Tah. "The way he ran up and down the line was top. That's exactly what we need."
Klopp made him the only one of the many debutants to go straight into the starting line-up, and he repaid that faith with a committed display. Treu covered plenty of ground on the right flank and his low ball into the box created Felix Nmecha's opening goal.
His positioning when tracking back was not always right, but overall he defended reasonably well against Cody Gakpo. Is Treu the answer to Germany's long-running search for a proper right-back?
Philipp Treu made it to the top by a roundabout route
Under former Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann, Joshua Kimmich usually filled in on the right of defence. Klopp immediately moved the captain into the centre and started looking for alternatives. Although "looking" may not be the right word. Klopp apparently already had his solution. "We talk in Germany about not having any right-backs," Klopp said at his squad announcement press conference. "And there's one playing who has to ask himself: Huh, what are they talking about?"
He meant Treu, whose intense style is a perfect fit for Klopp's transition football. A bit like Kevin Großkreutz once was at Borussia Dortmund or Andrew Robertson at Liverpool. "Of course it's cool to hear that someone has opened their eyes and looked towards Freiburg for once," said Treu, when after his successful Germany debut he had finally arrived in the spotlight. Treu is used to things taking a little longer. Nobody ever saw him as an absolute top talent and his career has taken plenty of detours.
As a youth player, the Heidelberg-born Treu turned out for SV Sandhausen and Kaiserslautern before moving to RB Leipzig. After the second team there was withdrawn, he moved to Freiburg in 2017. He won the DFB Junior Cup with the Under-19s and earned promotion to the 3. Liga with the reserve side. But it was not enough for the step up to the first team, although he did at least support them from the fan block now and then. In 2023, Treu joined St. Pauli in the 2. Bundesliga and won promotion straight away. He was 23 at the time. In 2025, Freiburg brought him back for €5.5 million. As a regular starter. For the first team.
"I always knew that I'm not one of those quick starters," Treu says today. Certain role models also stopped him from losing faith in a big career. He said he had "looked to people like Robert Andrich or Anton Stach", who also only made their national team debuts at a comparatively advanced footballing age. "I wanted to move little by little into the fast lane on the left and sneak up to overtake my competitors."
IMAGOBattle for places with Josha Vagnoman, help from Jonathan Tah
Right now, Treu is competing in that fast lane with Josha Vagnoman, who has enjoyed a similarly strong rise at Stuttgart and also made it into Klopp's first squad. "We push each other," said Treu, adding with a wink: "I can remember his goal against Bayern, when I'm sitting on the couch thinking: Shit, now he's gone and scored." After six competitive matches, Vagnoman already has two goals and two assists.
Even so, Klopp gave Treu the nod against the Netherlands. Was he nervous? "No, quite the opposite," Treu replied. "For me, it's extra motivation when I know my direct opponent is Cody Gakpo." Thanks to their time together at Liverpool, Klopp gave him some insider knowledge about the Dutch forward beforehand: "He said to me: Offensively he's a good footballer, but defensively he doesn't really fancy working back. So I annoyed him."
More than anything, Klopp gave him "a certain looseness", Treu revealed. During the match, the biggest help came from the man alongside him. "Jonathan Tah was constantly coaching me from behind. He said: 'Hey, you can burst forward, you can sprint, I've got your back.' Something like that gives you a really good feeling." In fact, the coordination problems were still obvious, but Treu's courage paid off for more than just the opening goal.
Afterwards, there was only one scene that left him unhappy, when he passed up a possible shooting chance. "That's the thing where I say after the game: Hey, you still have to get better there, take heart and shoot yourself instead of laying it off again," said Treu, who in his interview came across as reflective, cheeky and simply likeable.
He has the potential to solve Germany's problems at right-back. He also has the potential to become a crowd favourite and fans' favourite. "Now it's only really getting started," said Treu as he left the Amsterdam spotlight.