Vincent Kompany gave opportunities to 10 players under 20 years old in the recent friendly match against the Austrian side RB Salzburg, including three in the starting lineup. 16-year-old centre-back Cassiano Kiala and 18-year-old midfielder David Santos Daiber had their big starts for the first team after debuting in the Bundesliga against Heidenheim before the break.
Kiala was physically imposing, showing good pace and understanding of the game. He did have a few blips here and there, but Dayot Upamecano was experienced enough to cover for his young teammate.
Meanwhile, Daiber ran the midfield in the first half, dictating the pace of the game, and made two astounding goal-line clearances to prevent Bayern Munich from going down.
Wisdom Mike, 17, also made his first start for the first team. The talented winger wreaked some havoc on that left flank with his confidence and technical ability. He still needs to improve his physicality and decision-making in the final third, but there were glimpses of brilliance.
Bayern's young stars shone in second half
Bayern in the second half should be given the "Academy Awards," the way the academy graduates put up a performance so artistic and technical, you may think it was Blue Lock in real life. The duo that ran the show in the U19s last season, Felipe Chavez and Lennart Karl, reunited on the pitch and created magic together.
Karl was in his element per usual, scoring a goal from a beautiful weighted through-ball from Chavez. He later returned the favour with a low-driven cross, finding the cutting Peruvian for Bayern's third goal. Chavez was looking so comfortable and experienced on the pitch, not only in his heel flicks and goals, but also in his awareness of space and movement.
Lenny's Man of the Match performance did not stop there as he grabbed a second with a close-range header off a great effort from Luis Diaz.
Bayern's fifth goal in the game was a collaborative effort of many young talents. 17-year-old Maycon Cardozo intercepted the football, passed it to 18-year-old Guido Della Rovere, who flicked it to Luis Diaz. The Colombian starman finished the sequence with an audacious lob pass to 20-year-old Tom Bischof, who volleyed it into the back of the net. A wonderful team play. And a big shoutout to Luis Diaz in the second half for connecting all the young players on the field into a collective bunch.
In this game, left-back Deniz Ofli also featured in most of the second half. Spanish midfielder Javier Fernandez also made a quick cameo in the last minutes of the game, his first game with the first team after suffering a serious injury last year.
The future is bright here in Munich. Who do you think is the best of the bunch?