During preseason training, a handful of talented players from the FC Bayern academy had the opportunity to showcase their skills. The feedback after the match against Lyon was positive.
Harry Kane reportedly has no idea what the plans of FC Bayern’s sporting director are. “You’ll have to ask Max and Christoph if we’re signing any more players,” the striker said on Saturday after the 2-1 win against Lyon, referring to the sporting director and the director of football. “That’s up to them.”
In general, however, Kane is satisfied with the record champions’ current squad – what else could he say? “We have good competition in every position,” he emphasizes. “Of course, we need luck” when it comes to further injuries. After all, Hiroki Ito, Alphonso Davies, and Jamal Musiala will be out for months. “They’ll feel like new signings for the second half of the season,” says Kane. “But the team is hungry, the team is ready.”
And while some are missing, others get to show what they can do and seize the opportunity. Take Paul Wanner (19), for example, who made his first appearance in Bayern’s starting line-up against Lyon after two years on loan at Elversberg and Heidenheim. “It was really cool,” said the midfielder, “to play with the old boys again.”
Sporting director Eberl recently spoke of a “huge opportunity” now available to the number 10 due to Musiala’s injury. “My focus is on preparation,” Wanner explained, skillfully avoiding further questions about the future. Unlike some of his opponents, the German-Austrian’s performance was not particularly impressive. However, Wanner’s physical development is worth noting; he looks much more stable than in his last appearances for FCB.
A little more robustness wouldn’t hurt Lennart Karl (17) either, who, like Wanner, appeared in the starting line-up and was allowed to whirl around the right wing. The 5’6″ dribbler picked up flying balls from the left with the outside of his foot more than once, picked up speed, moved into the penalty area, but often got stuck there. He almost scored Bayern’s first goal of the season, but his volley from Guerreiro’s cross flew past the far post in the 11th minute.
Jonah Kusi-Asare (18), who is 27 centimeters taller, was much less conspicuous after the break. The lanky Swedish striker dropped back from time to time in Kane style, looking for passes, but hardly any moves went through him. Instead, Munich’s entire offensive play in the second half focused on the wings with Michael Olise and Luis Diaz.
David Daiber (18) made a promising impression in the double six alongside Joshua Kimmich, as did center back Cassiano Kiala (16), who is highly regarded at the FCB Campus. The captain of the German U-16 national team (born in 2009!) played like Alaba, courageous and confident. He made up for the occasional lapse in concentration with big strides and bold passing in the build-up play. Daiber, a German-Portuguese player from Milbertshofen, impressively covered Kimmich’s back.
“The boys are doing really well,” said national team captain Kimmich as he left the arena, clearly not wanting this to be taken as a platitude and therefore adding a loud “really” for emphasis.
Sports director Freund also drew a satisfied conclusion, after all, the handful of talents have not only been playing with the pros since this season. “In general, they did well,” said the Austrian. “They are really very young lads, 16 to 18 years old. They integrated very well, showed no disrespect, and performed well. It was simply important that they integrated well and showed that they can play at this level. They didn’t hide away, which was very important to see. It was fun to watch the boys. And above all, the boys enjoyed themselves.”