Midfield
Defensive Midfielder- Owen Hargreaves (England)
While most of the players on this list joined FC Bayern from other clubs, Owen Hargreaves remains the only name on this team who rose up from Bayern’s youth ranks itself. Born and raised in Canada to an English father and Welsh mother, he began attracting interest from scouts while playing for Calgary Foothills FC, ultimately earning himself a place in Bayern Munich’s prestigious youth academy.
There, Hargreaves moulded himself into a player with artifice qualities thanks to training with master craftsmen like Oliver Kahn, Stefan Effenberg and Lothar Matthäus.
A hardworking and solid defensive midfielder who worked tirelessly to win the ball, Hargreaves, till date, remains one of two English players to have won a Champions League medal with a non-English club, the other being Steve McManaman.
He played a crucial role in Bayern’s 2001 UEFA Champions League victory as he started the semi-finals against Real Madrid in the absence of Effenberg. His calm and composed performance not only earned him lots of plaudits, but also a permanent place in Bayern’s starting eleven.
Unfortunately, injury problems led to his downfall once he left Munich to play in England. His name is often brought up in conversations about promising careers tragically ended by injuries. Yet, the numerous accolades that he won at Bayern are a testimony to the fact that Hargreaves belonged to a very selective group of British footballers who made a name for themselves across the English channel.
Honourable Mentions: Anatoliy Tymoshchuk (Ukraine), Xabi Alonso (Spain)
Central Midfielder – Mark van Bommel (Netherlands)
We need a box-to-box midfielder who can merge the attack with the defence and, to be honest, it was quite an easy choice to make. In the century-long history of the club, there has been, quite remarkably, only one non-German player to ever lead the side, the ‘Dutch Destroyer’ Mark van Bommel.
One of the greatest central midfielders of his generation, van Bommel was not only an expert tackler and ball winner but also boasted of a huge array of powerful shots and passes. He arrived at Bayern from Barcelona in 2006 with a huge reputation after winning the 2005-06 UCL with the Catalans.
At Bayern, he soon established himself as a key member of the side and in only his second season with the club, was named the Bayern Player of the Year, beating favourites like fellow Dutchman Roy Makaay and German midfielder Mehmet Scholl.
After the retirement of club legend Oliver Kahn, van Bommel was selected to succeed him as the captain. He spent a total of five illustrious seasons at Munich and carried the side to the 2010 UEFA Champions League finals. A true representative of Bayern’s fighting spirit and ruthless attitude, van Bommel easily earns the right to lead this elite team.
Honourable Mentions: Soren Lerby (Denmark), Daniel Pranjic (Croatia)
Attacking Midfielder – Ze Roberto (Brazil)
Having played nearly 12 seasons in Germany, Ze Roberto is without a doubt a Bundesliga legend. A man who left Flamengo at the age of 24 to join Bayer Leverkusen, Roberto also played for Hamburger SV.
Although primarily operating as a defensive player, his word-working nature, pace and versatility allowed him to play in a wide range of positions. He was given more creative freedom later in his career, being deployed as a left-winger or attacking midfielder.
Roberto was a part of the pre-tournament favourite Brazil squad during the 2006 World Cup that unceremoniously went out in the quarterfinals stage. Roberto’s incredible performance though earned him a spot in the World Cup All-Star team. His time at Bayern saw him win four Bundesliga titles and as many DFB Pokal cups.
Honourable Mentions: Conny Tortensson (Sweden), Branko Oblak (Yugoslavia)
