Dear Reader,
The word comes originally from the realm of sport. A single, brilliant Leistungsträger can raise an average group of players to the cusp of glory (Michael Ballack at the 2002 World Cup). Three or four of them make you almost unstoppable (Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger at the 2014 World Cup).
A team without a Leistungstr…