At the end of their journey together, the FC Bayern World Squad took on the record champions' U19 team on Saturday evening. The setting for the game couldn’t have been better: at the Allianz FC Bayern Team Presentation, the talents got to test themselves against Bayern’s oldest youth team at the Allianz Arena. Around 20,000 spectators came to Munich for the presentation of the first-team squad, and plenty were still in the stands for the closing encounter between the World Squad and the U19s.
However, the representative team managed by Klaus Augenthaler did not get off to a good start and found themselves 2-0 down after just 12 minutes after goals from Greyson Dettoni and Emirhan Demircan. Salih Sen made it 3-0 shortly before half-time.
In the second half, the World Squad coaching staff made a tactical switch from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-4-2 formation. While Augenthaler’s charges made it a more even contest, they couldn’t create the goalscoring chances to get back into the game. With 69 minutes on the clock, Luca Klanac wrapped up a 4-0 win for the U19s.
Coaches’ reaction
Klaus Augenthaler: “Today you clearly saw that the players reached their limits. They weren’t able to handle the atmosphere, the huge stadium and everything going on around them in front of 15,000 spectators as well as we expected. The team conceded two goals right at the start which could have been avoided and were given away too carelessly. The boys then got into it more in the second half, but the goal threat still wasn’t there for the most part. Overall it's a very disappointing result for both the players and for us, which we first need to process. Today it wasn’t just luck that we lacked - the majority of our players also lacked the right attitude.”
Christopher Loch: “For every young player it’s a dream to play in front of a crowd at the Allianz Arena, and no one can take this experience away from the boys now. For a lot of the players, it was the first time in their life playing at such a big, international stadium like the Allianz Arena. That certainly has an effect and creates a bit too much pressure on the individual players. You always have to take into account that this event is maybe still big for the majority of the team. Saying that, they have to be able to cope with it in some way if they want to become professionals.”
Countless unforgettable experiences
Before the concluding match against FC Bayern U19, the World Squad players experienced a very eventful week in Munich. The programme included numerous training sessions at Säbener Straße, friendlies against VfL Wolfsburg U19 (0-3) and SpVgg Unterhaching (5-1) as well as activities off the pitch such as a sightseeing tour through Munich and rubber dinghy tour on the Loisach. “On the whole, the boys were able to get a good comparison of where they’re at against some of the top youth teams in Germany. I hope they take this experience away with them, reflect and work on their strengths and weaknesses,” summarised Loch. Following the match against FCB U19, there was an emotional team evening at the Allianz Arena. On Sunday, the aspiring young footballers head back to their respective countries with countless unforgettable memories.
FC Bayern World Squad documentary in autumn
The youngsters‘ complete journey, from training through the selection process to the match against the FC Bayern youth team, will again be documented in an eight-part exclusive series this year. The documentary will be available for fans to watch in autumn on the club’s YouTube channel as well as on the FC Bayern website and selected international media outlets.
The report from the match against Unterhaching:
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