Bavaria talent: lack of funding or missed opportunities?

Bavaria talent: lack of funding or missed opportunities?

München, Deutschland - Lately there have been increasing discussions about the future of FC Bayern Munich, especially with regard to their own talents and the talented youth work at Bayern Campus. Herbert Hainer, President of the Association, already expressed great hopes for players such as Joshua Zirkzee, Sarpreet Singh, Leon Dajaku and Oliver Batista Meier in 2022. However, these predictions hardly seem to have occurred. The other players only have limited missions with the exception of Zirkzee, which has now played in English football at Manchester United and played 12 Bundesliga games. Sarpreet Singh has not yet played a single game in the Bundesliga and is now playing at FK TSC Bačka Topola in Serbia, while Leon Dajaku continues his career in the Emirates at Sharjah FC. Oliver Batista Meier is now under contract with Prussia Münster after playing for several clubs, including SC Heerenveen and Dynamo Dresden.

The situation raises questions: Where is the problem when integrating the talent into the professional team? Markus Babbel, formerly player and trainer, sees the lack of courage to lead the club as a central obstacle. His criticism is aimed at the fact that only two talents-including Jamal Musiala, who made the leap to the regular player of the professionals-were actually integrated into the professional team from the young area via the campus. Musiala, who spent most of his youth at Chelsea and moved to Munich for only 250,000 euros in 2019, is a showcase project for successful talent promotion.

Reality at FC Bayern Campus

Since the opening of FC Bayern Campus in 2017, one might think that the youth work has been better structured. The goal was to either integrate talents into the professional team or to sell them profitably. But reality looks different. Almost all talents such as Angelo Stiller, Frans Krätzig and Paul Wanner did not make the jump or had to leave the club. Stiller, for example, was transferred to Hoffenheim and finally to Stuttgart, where he drew attention to himself as a national player because Bayern did not support him sufficiently. Kenan Yildiz switched to Juventus Turin free of charge and is now considered one of the success stories that leaves FC Bayern behind.

With Christoph Freund, a new sports director will take over the scepter from September, who will come up with experience in talent development at Red Bull Salzburg. His experiences could help change the course of the association and to make the promotion of young talent more effectively, as Hainer has already demanded. The salary structure must be reconsidered in order to give more talents an opportunity to prove themselves.

key player in focus

Another talent that recently drew attention to itself is Frans. In a friendly against Liverpool, he scored the decisive 4: 3 winning goal. The 20-year-old Krätzig, born in Stuttgart, previously comes from clubs like FC Southampton and FC Chelsea and has a market value of 110 million euros. Hibulically, other talents such as Jonathan Asp Jensen, Max Schmitt and Robert Ramsak, who have already made a big impression in the U17 and U19.

It remains to be seen whether Bayern learn from their mistakes and reactivate their own youth work. But the next few months are crucial for the future of talent in the club. Hainer and Rummenigge take responsibility and face the challenge of giving FC Bayern a strong foundation that is not only based on the success of the professionals, but also on the sustainable promotion of one's own talent. The pressure is great and many eyes are directed to the decisions of the club owners. After all, you only need a little spark of courage to make great things.

For current developments, fans remain excited to the next steps of the club, which hopefully point in the right direction. The time will show whether FC Bayern Munich will find an old shine or is on a dangerous course.