Bayern Munich’s U-23s are facing something of an identity crisis. Having struggled to keep a manager for more than one full season for nearly a decade, the Bavarians elected to hire Director of Youth Football Holger Seitz as manager of the U-23s, safe in the knowledge that he would remain in the position rather than go somewhere better. But Seitz’s football is very safe and features little of the attacking and possession based football that one expects of Bayern. That players should internalize in order
to graduate to the senior team. How helpful is this continuity if the football is not right? With that in mind, Bayern have decided to let Seitz step back into a different position at the club next season.
According to Florian Plettenberg, Bayern have already chosen a replacement in Dante Bonfirm, 2013 treble winner at Bayern, to not only lead the U-23s into the 2026/27 season but also represent them on a continental basis:
Dante will become the new head coach of the U23 team for the upcoming season, succeeding Holger Seitz. The contract has been signed. The 42 y/o legend will take over after retiring [at OGC Nice] this summer. In addition to leading the U23s, he will also coach Bayern’s Youth League team next season – a first for the club and a sign of great appreciation.
It is already a risk to give the reins of Bayern’s oldest youth team to a rookie manager like Dante, but allowing to manage in the UEFA Youth League is another big sign of Bayern’s trust in the Brazilian. The Youth League essentially the U-19 version of the Champions League, with every qualified Champions League team’s U-19 team in turn qualifying for the Youth League before they go through a very similar format to the UCL. For years now, the U-19s that Bayern send to the Youth League have been managed by the U-19 manager. To give this responsibility to the U-23 manager, especially a rookie manager like Dante, is quite surprising.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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