Servus and welcome to Munich, Konrad Laimer! The 26-year-old has joined FC Bayern from RB Leipzig to bolster the midfield. fcbayern.com introduces the Austria international…
Salzburg youth product to Player of the Season
Laimer was born on 27 May 1997 in Salzburg, Austria. He was just 10 years old when he joined the academy of local giants Red Bull Salzburg, going on to play through all the youth teams. After taking his first steps in the second division at Salzburg’s feeder club Liefering, he made his senior debut with the Red Bulls in the Austrian Bundesliga at just 17 on 28 September 2014 under coach Adi Hütter. The 1.8m-tall midfielder went on to amass a number of titles in the following years with Salzburg, including the domestic double of league and cup three years in a row between 2015 and 2017. He earned a special personal honour in 2017 when he was named the Austrian Bundesliga’s Player of the Season.
Key player and cup winner at Leipzig
After three highly successful years in the Salzburg first team, Laimer took the next step to Leipzig in summer 2017. He proved from the start that he was both a flexible and reliable performer, starting out often on the right wing before eventually moving inside, where he’s demonstrated his strength in challenges. Laimer developed into one of the main figures in central midfield before an ankle injury suffered on international duty in August 2020 halted his progress and kept him out of action for almost half a year. But he battled back and would make 190 competitive appearances (15 goals) for Leipzig, where he also won the DFB Cup in 2022 and again this season just gone.
First-choice player in the Austrian national team
Laimer was called up by the Austria national team for the first time in May 2017, shortly before his move to Germany. However, he had to wait a further two years before making his senior international debut, when he started a Euro qualifier against Slovenia in June 2019. The 26-year-old has since earned 26 caps (two goals) for his country, also appearing in all four games as Austria reached the last 16 of Euro 2020. Laimer remains one of the mainstays in midfield under new coach Ralf Rangnick.
Reunion with old acquaintances
Laimer’s move to Munich sees him reunited with a number of familiar faces from the course of his career. The midfielder has already played alongside Dayot Upamecano and Marcel Sabitzer, who is on loan at Manchester United, at Salzburg and Leipzig. He’ll also remember his new assistant coach Zsolt Löw, who was assistant to Peter Zeidler at Liefering when Laimer made his debut in the Austrian second division at the end of 2013/14.
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