Felipe Chavez has yet to make a competitive appearance for FC Bayern’s professional team, but he has already played for Peru’s senior national team.
For the twelfth time this season, Bayern’s surprise national team debutant
Felipe Chavez has yet to make a competitive appearance for FC Bayern’s professional team, but he has already played for Peru’s senior national team.
For the twelfth time this season, the UEFA Youth League is being held in parallel with the Champions League, and unlike Salzburg, Porto, and Piraeus, FC Bayern has not yet won the international youth tournament.
Felipe Chavez did a lot to help Bayern get past the round of 16 last season, but his goal in the knockout tie with Inter was not enough as they lost on penalties. The 18-year-old midfielder has already taken center stage on matchday one of this Youth League season, scoring twice as a left winger in the 3-2 opening defeat to Chelsea, once directly from a corner. Incidentally, the German-Peruvian missed two relatively close chances with long-range shots from his own half. Chavez does not lack confidence, as can be seen from his play and statistics. The rather offensive number eight finished the previous season with 18 goals and 13 assists in 35 appearances, spread across the Bavarian Regional League, the Youth League, and the U19 Bundesliga.
His professional debut followed in the summer, when Chavez was allowed to start alongside Tom Bischof in the double six in Bayern’s season dress rehearsal in Zurich. He played courageously and confidently, and once even sent a long-range shot from around 20 meters just over the goal after skillfully turning around his Zurich opponent Matteo Mantini. Chavez initiated Jonah Kusi-Asare’s 2-0 goal with his opening pass to Lennart Karl, who provided the assist. Chavez, whose father is Peruvian, came on as a substitute in the friendly match in Chile (1-2) on Saturday night (CET). He had already made the front page of the Peruvian daily newspaper “Libero” because he was one of four newcomers with Peruvian roots in the squad alongside Nuremberg’s Fabio Gruber.
“At first glance, Pippo’s nomination to the senior national team comes as a surprise, as he has only played for us in competitive matches in the regional league and the Youth League so far,” Jochen Sauer admits to kicker. However, the director of campus and youth development at FC Bayern also says: “He was largely convincing in both competitions.”
Left-footed Chavez’s shooting technique is particularly impressive. He often dribbles past one or two opponents in the penalty area before firing off a powerful shot, as he did recently when he scored the goal that made it 2-1 against Chelsea. “He needs to keep at it and continue to work hard,” says Sauer, “especially on his physical fitness, then he will certainly be one of the next candidates to make it in a professional league.”
After returning from Peru, Chavez is expected to rejoin the second team, but internally he is considered the next youngster to gain playing experience at a significantly higher level. As it is likely to be difficult for him to break into the professional team at first, a loan move could make sense for him, similar to Jonathan Asp Jensen (Zurich) or Maurice Krattenmacher (Hertha).
This season, the UEFA Youth League is being held in parallel with the Champions League, and unlike Salzburg, Porto, or Piraeus, FC Bayern has not yet won the international youth tournament.
Felipe Chavez did a lot to help Bayern get past the round of 16 last season, but his goal in the knockout tie with Inter was not enough due to the subsequent penalty shootout defeat. The 18-year-old midfielder has already taken center stage on matchday one of this Youth League season, scoring twice as a left winger in the 3-2 opening defeat to Chelsea, once directly from a corner. Incidentally, the German-Peruvian narrowly missed twice with long-range shots from his own half. Chavez does not lack confidence, as can be seen from his play and statistics. The rather offensive number eight finished the previous season with 18 goals and 13 assists in 35 appearances, spread across the Bavarian Regional League, the Youth League, and the U19 Bundesliga.
His professional debut followed in the summer, when Chavez was allowed to start alongside Tom Bischof in the double six in Bayern’s season dress rehearsal in Zurich. He played courageously and confidently, and once even sent a long-range shot from around 20 meters just over the goal after skillfully turning around his Zurich opponent Matteo Mantini. Chavez initiated Jonah Kusi-Asare’s 2-0 goal with his opening pass to Lennart Karl, who provided the assist. Chavez, whose father is Peruvian, came on as a substitute in the friendly match in Chile (1-2) on Saturday night (CET). He had already made the front page of the Peruvian daily newspaper “Libero” because he was one of four newcomers with Peruvian roots in the squad alongside Nuremberg’s Fabio Gruber.
“At first glance, Pippo’s nomination to the senior national team comes as a surprise, as he has only played for us in competitive matches in the regional league and the Youth League so far,” Jochen Sauer admits to kicker. However, the director of campus and youth development at FC Bayern also says: “He was largely convincing in both competitions.”
Left-footed Chavez’s shooting technique is particularly impressive. He often dribbles past one or two opponents in the penalty area before firing off a powerful shot, as he did recently when he scored the goal that made it 2-1 against Chelsea. “He needs to keep at it and continue to work hard,” says Sauer, “especially on his physical fitness, then he will certainly be one of the next candidates to make it in a professional league.”
After returning from Peru, Chavez is expected to rejoin the second team for now, but internally he is considered the next youngster to gain playing experience at a significantly higher level. Since that is likely to be difficult with the pros for the time being, a loan could make sense for him, similar to Jonathan Asp Jensen (Zurich) or Maurice Krattenmacher (Hertha).
