Most people know the general gist of Maycon Cardozo’s rise through the ranks of Bayern Munich so far, but it is worth repeating how rapidly the pint sized magician has overcome every challenge thus far. Picked as part of the 2024 Bayern World Squad edition, the Brazilian impressed the likes of Roy Makaay and his fellow World Squad coaches so much that they unanimously agreed to recommend Bayern to sign the youngster from the Sports Thai Bavaria Academy in Thailand. He duly joined the U17s in January
2025, moved up to the U-19s in the summer, made it to the U-23s by January 2026 and made his first team debut under Vincent Kompany in March 2026 in a 4-1 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Now two 2026/27 preseason games are gone and Cardozo has passed his next challenge. Moved all over the pitch to unfamiliar positions, including on the right flank against Rottach-Egern, he nevertheless impressed. Nor are just his performances on the pitch impressive, multiple coaches have been impressed by the youngster’s work ethic. Bildreports (as captured by @iMiaSanMia) that Cardozo has an outside chance at a role with the first team for the 2026/27 season:
Maycon Cardozo has emerged as one of the winners of the first part of pre-season. The 17-year old Brazilian stood out in training with his work ethic and attacking drive, receiving recognition from Vincent Kompany. Cardozo also left a good impression in yesterday’s friendly and is increasingly making a strong case for himself to be permanently included in the first team
FCB II head coach Dante was also impressed: “Maycon always gives it his all – always. I even had to stop him once and tell him he shouldn’t always be sprinting. He is always motivated and focused, always thinking about the next ball. That’s a great quality. With his attitude, he’s a role model for our team.”
Because of this commitment and performances, Cardozo will be included in the squad for the Asia tour, and could get game time in the friendlies there. After the tour, it will become clearer whether Cardozo has a realistic chance of playing a role for the first team this season.
It is hard to imagine Cardozo will be integrated into the first team so soon, though it would be foolhardy to completely rule out this rising star’s chances entirely. But if is decided that he is not quite ready, we will see if Bayern believe another 12 months of playing in the fourth division of German football with Bayern II is the right step or if the youngster needs to already be sent out on loan after 18 months in the Bayern academy.
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