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Bayern Munich are currently one of the most dominant teams in Europe. The Bavarians have always been a very good side, but they have become a formidable side since the turn of the century and have won numerous domestic and continental titles during this period. Their recent success was shaped by the advent of many notable academy graduates which is similar to the case of Barcelona.If you look at Spain’s side which dominated football in recent years, you can see that Barcelona’s academy graduates played a crucial role and a similar pattern can be seen with Bayern Munich and Germany. In fact four German players, namely Thomas Muller, Mats Hummels, Toni Kroos and Philipp Lahm, were in the shortlist for the Golden Ball award for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and all four of them are Bayern’Âs academy graduates.This isn’t the first time that Bayern’Âs youth products have played a key role in Germany’s success. Players like Franz Beckenbauer, Sepp Maier and Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck from Bayern’s academy were all key players in Germany’Âs 1974 World Cup winning squad.Many of Germany’Âs greatest players have come through Bayern’s academy and they keep producing top talents. So here is a look at the ten best academy players from Bayern Munich.
#10 David Alaba
Aged just 23, David Alaba might seem like a baffling inclusion in the list. However, based on the evidence of his highly impressive career with both club and country in the last five years, Alaba has a case.
Alaba’s entry into the Bayern team was simply amazing. Aged just 17, he came on as a substitute against Greuther Furth and within one minute and with just his second touch of the game, he set up Ribery for the goal that gave Bayern the lead. His partnership with Ribery down the left flank of Bayern was one that would blossom into a fruitful one in the seasons that followed.
The most impressive thing about Alaba is that he started his career as a central midfielder, but quickly adapted to the left back position and became the undisputed first choice for a club of Bayern's stature when he was just a teenager.
However, he plays in central midfield with equal effect when he plays for Austria and was one of the standout performers in the Euro 2016 qualifying phase. His manager Pep Guardiola recently called Alaba God because the Austrian has played in almost all 10 outfield positions for his Bayern side.
His versatility is just one of his strong suits. The Austrian is one of the most attack-minded full-backs in the game, but he hasn't let his attacking instincts affect his defensive duties. He has immense pace, good ball control and positional sense.
Alaba makes brilliant and well-timed overlapping runs when the winger down the left side draws away a defender and the result is equally good when the roles are reversed. In addition to this, his ability to strike the ball cleanly has come in handy as he has scored some brilliant goals with that wand of a left foot of his.
At such a young age he has already been named in UEFA’s team of the year for 2013 and 2014 and has been named as Austrian footballer of the year for the last four years in succession.
Despite his growing stature and fame, Alaba has remained humble and that's probably why he is where he is in such a short period.
#9 Mats Hummels
Although Mats Hummels is a Bayern Munich youth product, he was bestowed with the honour of representing Bayern Munich's senior side only twice in his career. The German made his name as one of the best active centre backs with Bayern's rivals Borussia Dortmund and is now also the Ruhr club’s captain.
Hummels is not the quickest player across the field but his ball playing ability; his positional sense and his awareness have made him one of the most coveted defenders in the game. He brings the ball out of defence with relative ease and brings the midfielders into play. He also has the ability to pick a long pass with decent accuracy and this often helps in setting up counter attacks.
He played an immense role in Germany’s World Cup triumph in 2014 and this drew comparisons with another strong centre back who aided Germany to a World Cup win, Franz Beckenbauer. To be honest comparisons with Beckenbauer is not frivolous, but Hummels still needs to add more consistency and trophies to his game.
In addition to his abovementioned traits, Hummels has often been praised for his brilliant tackling, his interceptions, his strength in the air, his reading of the game and most importantly his leadership on the pitch.
It is fair to say that the German is one gem that slipped through Bayerns hands even with all the quality in their side and the benefiters were Dortmund who signed him for just 4m.
If the German can do justice to his talent and get better in the coming years then a few years down the line Hummels could be ranked higher than he currently is in this list.
#8 Toni Kroos
The current Bayern Munich squad have many classy central midfielders like Xabi Alonso, Arturo Vidal and Thiago Alcantara, but most Bayern fans will still be ruing the decision to sell Toni Kroos to Real Madrid.
Kroos became a member of Bayern's first team when he was just 17, but it was an 18-month loan spell at Bayer Leverkusen that thrust him into the limelight.
The German plays in a deep central midfield role or in an advanced central midfield role, but his best performances have often come in the latter one. Kroos was the most advanced central midfielder under Heynckes during Bayern's treble-winning season and was in the form of his life before an injury cut short his season halfway through.
He operated in the same role for Germany during the 2014 FIFA World Cup and finished the tournament as the joint highest assist provider as well as one of the nominees for the Golden Ball. He was the best player of the tournament according to FIFA’s Castrol Performance Index with an astonishing score of 9.79 out of a maximum possible 10!
It is the German’s ability to provide properly weighted through balls that helped him thrive as an attacking midfielder. He also has a brilliant eye for goal and scores a decent number of goals every season. In addition to all this, Kroos is also a set piece specialist and often takes the crossed free kicks and corners for both club and country.
In his final year with Bayern and during his time at Real Madrid, Kroos started playing deeper in midfield. His quick passing, his ball retention ability and his ability to spray long passes has aided him to thrive in this role.
#7 Bastian Schweinsteiger
Bastian Schweinsteiger is often mentioned in the same breath as Xavi or Andrea Pirlo who are considered to be the greatest midfielders of the 21st century. But the German is more of a jack of all trades and king of none. He has many attributes that make him a world-class midfielder, but he didn't stand out from the crowd for one particular attribute of his.
The German started out as a winger due to his good dribbling abilities as well as crossing skills, but soon shifted to a central attacking midfield role and later to the box to box role in which he excelled. German coach Joachim Low has even called Schweinsteiger the brain of his side.
Schweinsteiger's impeccable energy is one of the main reasons why he has excelled in a midfield role. He is an excellent passer, possesses great vision and has a very good passing range. The German is also a good reader of the game and this coupled with his ability to shoot from distance has yielded many goals over the years. The crossing ability which he honed while playing as a winger has also made him a set piece specialist.
The German’s goals, assists and passes are all exquisite, but it is his desire to win that makes him special and a fan favourite. During the final of the 2014 World Cup, Schweinsteiger cut his face in extra time, but he refused to be subbed out to ensure that Germany won the game.
Schweinsteiger has left Bayern to ply his trade in England with Manchester United and if he can match his performances at Bayern, then he will surely go down in history as a midfield maestro.
#6 Thomas Muller
During the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Diego Maradona mistook 20-year-old Thomas Muller for a ball boy. After just three minutes into Argentina’s game against Germany, Muller ensured that Maradona and the world would know who he was.
It might be hard for many to believe that Bayern were on the verge of selling Muller, but an intervention from Bayern's long-serving assistant manager Hermann Gerland ensured that Muller stayed put at Bayern. Today he is one of the first names on the team sheet and one of the most consistent players in the world.
Muller is a special player. He isn't flamboyant like most of the modern day forwards, but he gets the job done in style. This is probably why someone of Thierry Henry’s stature was of the opinion that young players should make Muller their role model.
The German is a very versatile player and can operate as a winger, an attacking midfielder or as a striker. Irrespective of the role, Muller’s performances are usually very consistent and he is the sort of player any manager would love to have in their side.
He is very composed on the field and his movements on and off the ball makes him a huge threat in the box. If he is provided space in the box, he will find a way to exploit it. His pace, his awareness, his positional sense and finishing are all top notch.
He isn't a great dribbler or good in beating defenders with a bag full of tricks, but whatever he lacks in his game, he makes up for with his strengths. He has the ability to create and score goals in plenty.
Muller was the Golden Ball winner at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the Silver Ball winner at the 2014 edition. He already has 10 goals to his name in just two World Cups and he also has time on his side to break Miroslav Klose's record.
Considering the steady improvement in Muller’s game with each passing season, it won't be long before we see Muller’s name mentioned along with some of the all-time greats.
#5 Klaus Augenthaler
Klaus Augenthaler is yet another world cup winning defender who progressed through Bayern Munich's youth setup.
Augenthaler spent his entire playing career with Bayern Munich and played as a centre back or as a sweeper. He appeared in 404 league games for the Bavarians and scored 52 goals, which is commendable for a defender.
During his playing career, he won all major domestic trophies and the FIFA world cup, but the European Cup eluded him as Bayern finished runners-up twice during his stint as a player.
Augenthaler was an old school player who was very tough and vocal like Oliver Kahn. He couldn't fathom the thought of playing for a club other than Bayern and preferred to shun the limelight.
The German was an excellent reader of the game and was a very difficult opponent to play against because of his commitment and no nonsense defending.
Augenthaler represented Germany in the 1986 and 1990 FIFA World Cup. He watched his side lose the 1986 final from the bench, but started and helped his nation win the coveted trophy in the 1990 final against Argentina.
#4 Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck
Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck was a regular member of the Bayern Munich and German side of the 1970s. He was a one-club man and an unsung hero of the dominant Bayern and German side of that era. He was a centre-back by trade, but he didn't get enough attention due to the presence of his more flamboyant and dominant partner Franz Beckenbauer.
Schwarzenbeck was called the Kaiser’s bodyguard for the incredible support he offered to Beckenbauer. The German was a natural ball winner who harried and tackled the opposition players with ruthless efficiency.
His attitude towards the game was amazing and a perfect example of that is the 1974 European Cup final. Atletico Madrid scored the first goal of the game in the 114th minute from a free kick which was awarded for a foul by Schwarzenbeck. The German was so determined to make up for his mistake that he equalised from 25 metres out with just seconds left on the clock and thus set up the only replay in European Cup final history.
Bayern won the replay two days later to win the second of their three European Cups in the 1970s.
Despite winning six League titles, three European Cups and one FIFA World Cup, Schwarzenbeck remained a modest person on and off the field.
#3 Philipp Lahm
When someone like Pep Guardiola who coached players like Messi, Xavi and Iniesta claims that Philipp Lahm is the most intelligent player he has coached, then there are very few things anyone can say to give an idea about the quality of Philipp Lahm.
The current Bayern Munich captain is considered to be one of the best if not the best fullback in the game at the moment. Lahm is an incredibly disciplined player and rarely gives away fouls or picks up cards.
The defensive side and the offensive side of Lahm's game are simply marvellous. The 32-year-old is an excellent tackler, but it is his positional sense and general awareness that sets him apart.
Lahm is also a highly versatile player. He started his senior career by deputising in a left back role while he was on loan at Stuttgart and he played in the same position for Germany during the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He moved back to his preferred right-back role later and operated in that position during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
If that wasn't enough, Lahm easily moved to a central midfield role under Guardiola and played in that role as well for Germany during the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
His passing skills are amazing and that's one of the reasons why switching to a midfield role was easy for him. His ability to pick out killer passes is also impressive. In fact during the 2012/13 season when Bayern won the treble, Lahm had 11 assists to his name in the league from a right back position and only Blaszczykowski with 12 and Franck Ribery with 15 had more assists than him.
Following Lahm's retirement from International football, Germany are struggling to fill that void and it is yet another indication of the former captain’s quality.
#2 Sepp Maier
Germany have been blessed with some of the most amazing goalkeepers like Oliver Kahn and Manuel Neuer in recent years. However, despite the well-documented and well-known skills of Kahn and Neuer, they have stiff competition from Sepp Maier for the title of Germany’s greatest goalkeeper of all time.
Maier was one of the members of the Bayern brigade that played a crucial role in helping Germany to the World Cup title in 1974. The German who was nicknamed Die Katze von Anzing (the cat from Anzing) spent his entire career with Bayern Munich and represented them in 536 league games! He also played for Germany on 95 occasions between 1966 and 1979.
The German was renowned for his lightning quick reflexes and his abovementioned nickname was given for the same. He was also the first keeper to wear the now standard, outsize, Mickey Mouse gloves. Meier was also a crowd favourite during his career due to his comical character.
In addition to the World Cup he won with Germany, he also lifted four league titles and three European Cups with Bayern Munich.
Meier playing career ended in 1979 at the age of 35 only because of a car accident he was involved in. Post retirement he was the goalkeeping coach of both Bayern and Germany and trained Oliver Kahn during this period.
#1 Franz Beckenbauer
In the history of the beautiful game, there are only two men who have won the FIFA World Cup as a player and a manager. One is Brazil’s Mario Zagallo and the other is Franz Beckenbauer.
Beckenbauer was given the nickname Der Kaiser meaning the emperor, because of his personality and style of play. He is considered as one of the greatest players of all time and is one of the very few defenders to have won the prestigious Ballon dOr award and he won it not once, but twice.
He was a versatile player who started out as a midfielder, but later thrived as a central defender and the German is often given credit for inventing the sweeper position or libero.
The former Bayern and Germany captain's trophy cabinet is simply marvellous. He has a FIFA World Cup and a Euro Championship with Germany, five Bundesliga titles including one with Hamburg in 1981/82 and a hat-trick of European Cups.
Beckenbauer was an elegant player who was also very dominant on the pitch. He was a leader on the pitch and was the captain of both Bayern and Germany during the 70s when both teams dominated their respective competitions. He was amazing in the attacking sweeper role and often indulged in marauding runs from defence which was a rare sight in those days. His temperament and calmness was simply envious.
As a player and as a manager, Beckenbauer has left an everlasting impact on the game and is easily the best player to have come from Bayern Munich's academy.
