Attacking midfielder with striker qualities: Malik Tillman profile

The Gold Cup got off to a flying start for the attacking midfielder: Malik Tillman scored his first two international goals for the USA in the first game in a 5-0 victory over Trinidad & Tobago. He provided an assist in the 2-1 win against Haiti and also another two over the course of the tournament. The right-footer has now achieved the top level with his national side as he has done for a long time playing for his clubs.

from the Fürth youth to FC Bayern

Tillman, born in Nuremberg on 28 May 2002, started playing football with local club ASV Zirndorf. As a youngster he joined SpVgg Greuther Fürth and from there he joined Bayern Munich at the age of 13 – together with his three-years-older brother Timothy. Tillman developed into a midfielder capable of scoring goals at Bayern and he also played as centre-forward at times. Tillman played in the UEFA Youth League with the U19s in the 2019/20 campaign. In the U19 Bundesliga South/South-west he scored 13 goals in 17 games before the league was suspended due to the coronavirus epidemic – he was top goalscorer at that point.

In the same year, Tillman won the Liga 3 title with the FCB second team and he made a significant contribution with five crucial goals in the final matches. He made his first appearances for the senior side in friendlies in the winter of 2019/20. In August 2020, when Bayern under Hansi Flick continued the Champions League campaign suspended in March, Tillman was in the squad against Chelsea for the second leg in the Round of 16 but he did not feature. The son of a German mother and an American father was at the finals tournament in Lisbon where Bayern beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the Champions League final. Tillman did not play in that game either.

champion of germany under Nagelsmann

After a long injury lay-off due to a torn cruciate, which he suffered in October 2020, the attacking midfielder was in the first team squad under Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann. He made his debut for the record champions on 25 August 2021 in the first round of the DFB Pokal in a 12-0 victory over Bremer SV where he scored a goal. Tillman played a few minutes in the Champions League for the first time in the winter of 2021 in the games against Dynamo Kyiv and Barcelona.

Shortly after that he made four appearances in the Bundesliga with his first start for Bayern coming in January 2022 in a 2-1 defeat against Borussia Mönchengladbach. FCB were crowned champions of Germany for the tenth time in succession at the end of the season. Tillman then went on loan to Rangers. He was due to gain match practice with the Scottish record champions. And that is what the now 20-year-old did. He played 43 games for Rangers in the 2022/23 season scoring twelve goals and providing five assists.

breakthrough at PSV under Peter Bosz

Tillman's career really took off at PSV Eindhoven who he joined on loan from FC Bayern in the summer of 2023. Under former Bayer 04 coach Peter Bosz, who was in the Werkself dugout from 2019 to 2021, Tillman developed into an absolute key performer and leader. He played a significant role in PSV winning the Netherlands league title twice in succession. Tillman scored 21 goals and provided 12 assists in 54 Eredivisie games at PSV Eindhoven. The 1.87 metre tall and physically strong playmaker scored his four goals with long-range efforts or headers.

Because of his parents, Tillman was initially able to play for the USA and Germany. He made his first international appearances at the age of 14 for the USA U15 team. He then played 21 games for Germany youth teams from the U15 side to the U21s. Three years ago Tillman finally decided to play for the USA. He has made 25 international appearances to date. He played the full 90 minutes in all six games at the Gold Cup – and he scored his first three goals for his country. Unfortunately that was not enough to lift the trophy.