Ziegler shared the pitch with two-time Socceroo Borrello for one season at Kaiserslautern in 2017/18 where the Australian recorded three goals and seven assists before injury cut his season short. 

For an Aussie heading to Germany at 22 years of age, fresh from the shores of the A-League, Borrello's meteoric rise to the Bundesliga has come as a shock to some. However, Ziegler believes Borrello has something special. 

"He struggled in the beginning but he never complained," Ziegler told FTBL.

"I wasn't surprised even though he came from Australia, It doesn't matter where you come from. If you have the right mentality you can do it anywhere.

"He was very disciplined and very professional and I am very happy for him."

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Borrello joined a list of Australian players that have excelled in the first and second divisions in Germany after joining from A-League teams. 

Mathew Leckie, Robbie Kruse, Ben Halloran, Dario Vidosic and Mitchell Langerak have all joined German sides direct from the A-League and have gone on to appear in FIFA World Cup squads in 2014 and 2018. 

Patrick Ziegler (R)

Ziegler believes the power is in the perseverance and that Borrello has the right spirit to succeed both at Bundesliga and at Socceroos level. 

"It all starts in the youth, you need to prove it in youth then you will get better players," said Ziegler.

"He has a good mentality and he is a great footballer. He has potential to go very far in the Socceroos." 

The German also has an Australian father and as he closes in on his Aussie citizenship, speculation is rising on the 29 year old's Socceroos potential.

Ziegler prefers to see the brighter side of the debate joking: "Sometimes I text Brandon saying one day we will see each other again in the national team."