Welcome to the FC Bayern Campus Round Up, where the matches of Bayern Munich’s U-23, U-19, and U-17 squads are recapped, lineups are provided, and match highlights are hyperlinked above their respective scorelines. This weekend, the U-17s did not play a match, so there will naturally be no recap. Remember, highlights for each match can be watched for free once you create an account on Bayern’s website.
Information on the matches of the U-23s and U-19s is provided by the official FC Bayern website
here and here. The results of the U-14, U-15, U-16, and U-17 teams can be found here. If one wishes to learn more about the format of the U-17 and U-19 youth leagues and what is at stake, more info can be found here. Without further ado, here is the roundup:
Bayern II (U-23s) 3-1 SpVgg Bayreuth, Matchday 16
Bayern lineup (with subs): Bärtl — Ajayi (71. Kim), Pavić, Kiala (46. Pavlić), Manuba — Lambe, Santos — Degraf (82. Egwuatu), Heinz (82. Gashi), Assomo, Wilson (61. Codjo-Evora).
Goals: 1:0 Assomo (42.), 2:0 Assomo (69.), 2:1 Zietsch (82.), 3:1 Santos (90.+6).
Unused subs: Ruland — Mijatović, Moumouni, Wimmer.
Unavailable players: Louis Richter, Leonard Prescott, Tarek Buchmann, Maycon Cardozo, Bogdan Olychenko, Benno Schmitz, David Heindl, Guido Della Rovere, Chivano Wijks, Matouš Srb, Erblin Osmani.
Position: 8th, 24 points.
Bayern II got away with one here, securing a victory against SpVgg Bayreuth to enter the international break on a high note. The Bavarians hosted the 2022 Regionalliga Bayern victors—who started the matchday four points ahead of them—while carrying an injury list the size of a skyscraper. Eleven players were unavailable for head coach Dante today, who decided to mix things up a little in the forward line. Unsurprisingly, regular starter Jannis Bärtl started between the sticks after Leon Klanac deputized last week, and Cassiano Kiala started in place of Ryan Moumouni. However, speedy winger Oluwaseyi Wilson was a surprise pick over Noah Codjo-Evora, which shuffled the other forwards into different positions than usual. Experimenting with the forward line has been the norm for Dante this season.
In truth, this lineup helped Bayern get the victory, but the performance and the game as a whole were dour. Unlike most teams in the league, SpVgg Bayreuth looked to play with a high press, just like Bayern. Both teams lacked the structure, quality on the ball, and patience to play out from the back. This resulted in an absurd abomination of a match in which one team would typically play two or three passes deep in their own half before giving up on combination play and launching a long ball straight to the opposing team, which would proceed to do the exact same thing. Then the cycle would repeat.
Ergo, this was not a match to learn a great deal from. Bastian Assomo continued his fine form, having bounced back from a couple of games on the bench to rack up five goal contributions in three games. His first goal was certainly fortunate, but it also demonstrated his opportunism and quick reactions as he was first to react to the ball squirming to the back post. His second goal showcased his freakish speed and composure under pressure. Kiala also impressed in his 45 minutes on the pitch, continually coming out on top as long ball after long ball rained down toward the backline. Furthermore, it was great to see U-19 forward Frank Egwuatu make not only his U-23 squad debut but also get on the pitch late in the match. David Santos Daiber’s goal was also well-taken and fairly similar to his goal for the senior team against 1. FC Magdeburg in the DFB-Pokal.
This win sees Bayern move up to 8th place, still 15 points behind 1st place. 1860 Munich, despite famously losing the derby, remain 9 points ahead of the red side of Munich. Bayern II will continue through the international break, much like in September, and travel to Ansbach on November 14. The international call-ups, along with the team’s numerous injuries, will surely see several U-19 players play a part in the match.
Ingolstadt U-19s 0-1 Bayern U-19s, Matchday 10
Bayern lineup (with subs): Podar-Stiube — El-Chaar, Pucci, Schmid, Horvath — Matosevic — Nuraj (64. Gashi), von Taube (64. Imade), Marić (84. Mujic), Horoszczak — Afanou (84. Zubovic).
Goals: 0:1 Horoszczak (57.).
Unused subs: Nadler, Karandrikas, Babl.
Red card: Xaver Pucci (61.).
Unavailable players: Matthias Kösters, Aristide Hentcho Nseke, Thibault Maspimby, Aviel Hentcho Nseke (Ryan Moumouni and Frank Egwuatu with the first team).
Position: 1st, 24 points.
The injury issues of the U-23s saw U-19 players called up, and in turn, the U-19s called up two U-17 players in Tarik Mujic and Deni Zubovic. Head coach Leonard Haas even found time to sub the duo on, despite the tense situation the U-19s found themselves in.
Bayern visited Ingolstadt knowing a victory would secure their qualification from the top two in Phase 1 of the league. 1860 Munich’s U-19s in 3rd place were seven points back with three matchdays remaining, after all. Win this matchday, and the gap would become unassailable. Bayern were handed the perfect opportunity to do so in the 6th minute when the referee deemed a shot in the area had been diverted by an Ingolstadt defender. Striker Philipp von Taube missed, however, blowing by far the Bavarians’ best chance of the half.
Nervousness persisted into the second half until Jakub Horoszczak unleashed a rare, breathtaking goal. Very few players have the audacity to cut in from the flank, dribble toward the left side of the pitch, and then unleash a shot back across goal, but Horoszczak did just that, arrowing it into the top corner in a brilliant display of skill and balance.
It was an utterly crucial goal, too, as only a couple of minutes later Xaver Pucci experienced a terrible lapse in judgment, not only losing the ball under little pressure but immediately pulling his opponent back with two hands. Having already collected a yellow card earlier, the young defender was sent off in horrendous circumstances. The next 30 minutes saw Ingolstadt besiege Bayern’s goal as the league leaders desperately defended their lead by pulling everyone back.
In the end, the team kept the clean sheet and secured the victory, earning their progress to Phase 2 of the league. Furthermore, they sit six points clear of VfB Stuttgart. One can assume that with just two games remaining, the Bavarians will be able to stay ahead of the team that beat them 6-1 on Matchday 2. Whether they can maintain that standing will be seen after the November international break.
