Just when it seems that the footballing world could not get any wackier, something like this happens. Bayern Munich announced on Friday, via their official website, that former Bayer Leverkusen player and 1859+1 youth player Lars Bender would become the new head coach of the U-17s from the 2026/27 season onwards. This, in turn, allows the previous U-17 head coach Leonard Haas to go up to the U-19s and replace Peter Gaydarov, who has already confirmed his departure.
Lars Bender is, of course, an icon
of the Bundesliga and Bayern prepared a quite useful summary of the player’s career:
He learned to play football at TSV Brannenburg before the ambitious teenager moved to SpVgg Unterhaching in 2002. Two years later came the next step, a transfer to TSV 1860 Munich, where, after various youth teams, he arrived on the professional stage. In the 2006/07 season, the defensive midfielder made his debut for the Lions in the 2. Bundesliga, taking to the field under former FC Bayern U17, U19, and reserve team coach Danny Schwarz. After three years at 1860, Bender made the move to Bayer 04 Leverkusen in 2009. Wearing the club’s crest, the tenacious player developed into a leader and captain, making 342 competitive appearances, scoring 27 goals, providing 36 assists – and receiving only one yellow-red card as a defender in all those years. Furthermore, the 37-year-old played 19 times for the German national team during his active career.
But Bayern are not just hiring Bender because of his playing career. Bender has also gotten his feet wet as a coach:
In 2022, Bender finally changed his perspective, moving from the pitch to the sidelines. He began his coaching career as assistant coach of the German U15 national team, before subsequently working with the DFB U16 and U17 teams, and then returning to the U16s. After his time with the DFB, he went back to SpVgg Unterhaching for six months as U17 coach – the club where his own playing career had once taken off. Since January 2025, the 37-year-old has been coaching SV Wacker Burghausen, finishing the current Regionalliga Bayern season in ninth place.
Going from the fourth division of German football to U-17 football certainly seems like a step down, but coaching at a club like Bayern does help to boost one’s credentials a fair bit. Funnily enough, Haas and Bender now share a history as coaches of SV Wacker Burghausen. Who knew the club had such good coaching identification?
Ultimately, signing Bender seems like a incredible coup. He was a very respected captain at a big club in Germany, an iconic Bundesliga player (alongside his less career conscious Borussia Dortmund supporting brother, Sven) and has 18 months of experience coaching in the Regionalliga Bayern. As long as Bayern can work on washing away whatever stink of 1859+1 is on him, this is such a promising appointment.
The decision to keep Leonard Haas around is also quite interesting, considering the mixed nature of his U-17 team’s performances. Bayern’s 2025/26 U-17s were billed as a very strong group but they suffered some big losses at various stages of the campaign, blew away top opposition, scraped through the second phase of the season by the skin of their teeth, put in an excellent comeback to qualify at all and exited the competition in the first knockout round. At their worst, they were terrible and at their best, they were spectacular. Haas will continue to work with most of the same players, given that they will move up with him to the U-19s, so let us see just how his and the player’s development continues.
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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