G. Strauch

Georg Strauch's route to first-team football at 1. FC Köln ran through nearly a decade in the club's own academy. He arrived there in 2014 after five years in Hennef's youth set-up, and worked his way from the U17s through the U19s before settling into the second team. That slow climb paid off in August 2022, when he was named in the senior squad and, on 25 August, came on as a substitute in the 82nd minute away to Partizan Belgrade in a Europa Conference League play-off, replacing Denis Huseinbašić in a match Köln lost 0-2.

When his contract ran out in the summer of 2025, he did not stray far: Fortuna Köln announced his signing on a free transfer, with Kölner Rundschau reporting that the move came together quickly after positive talks with the club's management. He put pen to paper on a deal running to June 2027 and took the number 11 shirt at his new club.

Strauch plays as a defensive midfielder, a role suited to the positional discipline instilled during his years in Köln's academy.