Wish and reality - FC Bayern and the talent problem

Thomas Müller, Bastian Schweinsteiger, and Phillip Lahm are passé at FC Bayern. Where are the new Bavarian heroes? And why are none of the many talented players making it to the first team? Karl-Heinz Rummenigge looks enviously at Paris and Barcelona.

Art, math, and sports theory were on the agenda for FC Bayern's young hopefuls in Orlando on Tuesday. While the record champions' seasoned pros enjoyed their day off in the pool or at the table tennis table, Lennart Karl (17), Cassiano Kiala (16), and David Santos Daiber (18) were busy with their schoolwork.

"I've gotten used to the double burden," Santos Daiber explained on the club's website. The workload on the pitch is limited anyway. FC Bayern's seven youngsters, as expected, will not be playing in the Club World Cup.

Only the highly talented Lennart Karl was allowed to romp with Musiala, Müller, and co. for half a game in the effortless opening match against Auckland City (10-0). The 17-year-old from Markt Frammersbach is undoubtedly considered the most promising talent at the Bayern campus, but despite his 34 goals and eleven assists in the past U19 season, he has been left out of the men's squad. The days when promising Bavarian homegrown talents sprang up year after year at Säbener Straße seem to be over.

Rummenigge "always admired" Louis van Gaal's "courage" to rely on youngsters like Thomas Müller, David Alaba, and Holger Badstuber. He created value for the club with it," the former chairman told "Welt am Sonntag." These values ​​are now to be revived and exemplified under the sporting directors, Max Eberl and Christoph Freund. But instead of developing young talent, the club appears to be continuing to work on large-scale and expensive solutions.

"You have to be incredibly careful not to get into a spiral with the salary structure that then becomes difficult to control," said Rummenigge. "The one who has solved this in an exemplary manner over the past 24 months is Paris St. Germain." The top club, backed by President Nasser Al-Khelaifi, has almost completely turned its philosophy on its head and was rewarded with the Champions League title in Munich just one year later. FC Barcelona, ​​with former coach Hansi Flick, also appeals to Rummenigge: "The club had major financial problems. And Hansi made a virtue out of necessity."

This is how things should work at FC Bayern in the future, too. "Ideally," according to Rummenigge, the record champions "will bring out one player every year who makes it into the first team." According to Rummenigge, the sporting leadership wants to build a squad of 14 to 16 players who "earn a very decent salary," plus four to six "at a lower level," and the rest should consist of "campus players."

But what is the reality? After the departures of Leroy Sané and Thomas Müller, the signing of Florian Wirtz and now the transfer of Nick Woltemade were discussed instead of integrating their own youth team.

For Lennart Karl, who is advised by former Bayern star Michael Ballack, the outlook isn't particularly rosy, just like for the other talented players. This is one of the reasons why there is already speculation about the left-footer leaving in the summer of 2026, when his contract in Munich expires.

For FC Bayern, Karl faces a similar scenario to the one in recent years, when Mathys Tel, Joshua Zirkzee, Angelo Stiller, and Malik Tillman (for various reasons) left Munich and found success elsewhere. With Paul Wanner, another "star of tomorrow" has now come into focus, but could potentially be included in a potential Woltemade deal to Stuttgart.

In Florida, Karl's primary focus off the pitch is on completing his high school diploma. He notes: "You can't lie to yourself; it doesn't help you in school." And in the upcoming contract negotiations, both Karl and FC Bayern will have to be honest with themselves: There's currently no room in Munich for the next great Bavarian homegrown talent.

Source: BR24Sport on the radio 03.07.2025 - 09:55

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