As of: March 13, 2024, 5:05 p.m
By: Jörg Bullinger
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Concentrated competence in the stands at FC Bayern's Youth League game on Tuesday: Max Eberl (back row, right), Christoph Freund (back row, 3rd from right), Uli Hoeneß (bottom row, left, Jan -Christian Dressen (bottom row, 2nd from left), U23 coach Holger Seitz (bottom row, middle) and head coach Thomas Tuchel (bottom row, right). © IMAGO/ULMER
After the defeat in the Youth League quarter-finals, the next challenge awaits FC Bayern's talents with the jump to the men's division.
Munich – It was a bitter afternoon for the U19s.
Ten weak minutes with three goals conceded ended the dream of taking part in the Final Four tournament of the Youth League in Nyon.
The 1:3 defeat against the A-Juniors of Olympiacos Piraeus was still a special afternoon for the talents.
With honorary president Uli Hoeneß, CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen, the new sports director Max Eberl, sports director Christoph Freund and head coach Thomas Tuchel, everyone with rank and name at FC Bayern was represented in the stands.
“We can look back on a Youth League season and say we are on the right track,” said Halil Altintop, athletic director on campus, assessing the performance after elimination.
“We want to start there and move on.” The young boys face crucial years in their young careers.
“There are some guys there who have a lot of potential,” says sporting director Freund.
“It will simply be important in the next one, two, three years that you support them properly and demand that they get to the next level.”
“It’s now about taking quick steps into the men’s sector.”
NLZ boss Jochen Sauer.
The average age of the team that lost out against the Greeks in the quarter-finals was 17.5 years.
Most of the talents will still be moving to the regional league team in the summer.
“It’s now about taking quick steps into the men’s area.
It will be important for the players to establish themselves in the U23 next year and not play another full season in the U19.
The next challenge must come,” says NLZ boss Jochen Sauer.
Aleksandar Pavlovic, who is currently on everyone's lips and is now even a candidate for Julian Nagelsmann's European Championship squad, has shown the way over the course of the season.
Even if the jump into the star ensemble is extremely difficult.
“Of course you have to look at things very realistically.
Our professional team has enormous quality and, above all, always has these ambitions and the pressure to win the championship, win titles, and perform in the Champions League,” said Sauer, outlining the hurdles for young players on Säbener Straße.
“This step towards becoming professionals is immensely big and not everyone can succeed because you always have to be in the right place at the right time.”
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Nevertheless, the 51-year-old and his colleagues Eberl and Freund are trying to make this step easier in the future.
“It’s now about us working together to make this transition from the junior to the professional sector better,” announces Sauer.
“Of course we have a lot more competence and expertise thanks to Max and Christoph.
They both also come from the youth sector.”
At the end of the coming 24/25 season, there is currently a great chance that the 2nd team will return to the 3rd league.
Since SpVgg Unterhaching and TSV 1860 are expected to stay in the league this season, no Bavarian relegated team will end up in the regional league.
Of the 18 teams currently in Bavaria's top division, only league leaders Würzburger Kickers and FC Bayern II have applied for the 3rd league by March 1st.
The majority of clubs will also forego this next year.
(jb)