For many Bayern Munich fans, Chris Richards is the young talent that got away. The American international had budding promise after arriving in Bavaria in 2018, but it has taken a move away to realize it.
Now at Crystal Palace, Richards has done just that. The fully-fledged USMNT star reflected on his time at Bayern, his progress in the Premier League, and the upcoming Men’s World Cup in a wide-ranging interview for CBS Sports.
Difficulty at Bayern
At Bayern, Richards was never a candidate to break through. The defense
was log-jammed, with bigger names (and salaries) ahead of him and a steady stream of big-money transfer additions.
Richards was undeterred, though, and powered by a driving ambition to be great — whether that was at Bayern or not. As Richards put it in the interview: “I never wanted to be just a name on the teamsheet. I wanted to be one of the first ones in it.”
Unleashed by a change in system
But Richards is at home now, with both Palace and the USMNT under Mauricio Pochettino running a back three. The defender-heavy formation is anything but passive from the standpoint of one of its wide center-backs.
“I love it. I think even for us defenders, it’s a chance for us to be aggressive,” Richards commented. “When you’re so far off the pitch, it’s your time to smash into somebody and you win the ball up that high and then it really is a counterattack within 20 yards of goals. I really enjoy it. I really do.”
Still, Richards is a defender first.
“Now, I think to be a center defender, you have to be a little sick in the head, to be honest with you,” Richards added. “You have to want to head the ball. You have to want to crunch people and pretty much, your job is that once you get the ball, to give to the people who go make the magic happen and so for me, like I said, my favorite thing in the world is to have like a crazy crunch tackle and everybody goes wild so I’d rather do that than score a goal. That’s my job and I love it.”
From big pond to across the pond
When Richards finally left Bayern and Germany for good in 2022, it was a chance to be a bigger fish at club that wasn’t atop the Champions League conversations year in and year out. But in his first season at Crystal Palace, he managed just four league starts for a side that finished 11th in the Premier League.
Richard’s time was soon to come — exploding into a starting lineup fixture in each of the three seasons since — but there were early dues that needed paying. He credited former captain Joel Ward with taking him under his wing.
“I think as a 22-year-old who came from a big club like Bayern, you’re thinking, all right, cool. I’m gonna get here. I’m gonna play,” Richards, now 26, recalled. “I feel like I was doing everything right and so [Ward] pulled me to the side a few times, like, ‘Everybody sees you doing the right thing. Just keep doing the right thing so that when your time does come, you’re ready for it’ … He wasn’t even really playing at the time but he knew what his spot and what his role was in the club and he did it perfectly.”
Injured on the cusp of the World Cup
Richards’ journey has been a fruitful one. Now a regular in the XI and beloved by Palace fans, the 25-year-old finds himself in a leadership position for both club and country. But just as the summer’s Men’s World Cup is about to begin, the USMNT defender finds himself with new adversity to battle — having torn two ankle ligaments in the penultimate Premier League match of the season, a draw to Brentford on Sunday, May 17th.
The injury occurs ten days to Palace’s Europa Conference League Final against Rayo Vallecano, and less than that to the official USMNT roster announcement. Palace coach Oliver Glasner has called his chances 50-50 for the cup final, though the outlook is more positive for the summer tournament, per CBS football correspondent James Benge:
He may not have made his big break at Bayern, but Richards’ success is great to see. Hopefully he comes back in time for the World Cup, if not sooner, and shines bright on the big stage.
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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