Bayern Munich's North American Talent Raid
- Chuck Smith
- Feb 1, 2019
- 5 min read
Over the past few months, Bayern Munich has embarked on a mission to procure as much top-tier North American talent as possible --- which has been wildly successful.
The Bavarians first made a deal with the Vancouver Whitecaps to arrange for the transfer of Canadian phenom Alphonso Davies last summer. Davies, of course, had to wait until December to travel to Munich before he could begin practice and then until January to make his formal debut, which he did in the Bundesliga last Saturday against VfB Stuttgart.
FC Dallas product Chris Richards was shipped to Germany on a loan last summer, where he excelled for Bayern's U19 team and displayed enough promise to sign a four-year contract with the German juggernaut last week.
Finally, Bayern brought in Real Salt Lake Academy product Taylor Booth, a midfielder, who obtained an Italian passport so he could sign a deal with the Bavarians as a 17-year-old.
Three players from three different MLS Academies, all containing immense potential.
And while that is impressive in and of itself, Bayern also made a strong effort to pursue Hershey, PA (The Sweetest Place on Earth you know) native Christian Pulisic before the American star signed with Chelsea, who he will join in July.
Clearly, Bayern's move on North American talent is an initiative the club hopes pays big dividends over the next decade and beyond.
Did Bayern approach its transfer strategy like a drunken Ebay bidder hellbent on penetrating the North American market or has the page turned to the point where North America is beginning to develop talent on par with European academies?
While it would be hard to argue the structure in North American has evolved into a consistent talent generator, you can be sure that Bayern didn't throw back a fifth of Jack Daniels and hope for the best.
Davies, Richards, and Booth all have immense quality at a young age and represent Bayern's foresight to try and bolster its youth system and first-team depth by exploring the talent base abroad.
While the move for Davies saw him placed immediately on the first team, Richards and Booth will have to do battle in the Bayern your ranks where they will have access to world-class coaching and facilities, along with an up-close view of how some of the greatest players in the world ply their trade on a daily basis.
Alphonso Davies
Davies, the most game ready of the bunch thanks to his work in MLS for Vancouver and also the Canadian Men's National team, is currently Bayern's fifth option at wing behind Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Kingsley Coman, and Serge Gnabry (perhaps even sixth if you include Thomas Muller's fine work on the wing of late). The 18-year-old starlet, however, is at the stage where the time he spends on the practice field working against his world class teammates is probably more integral to his development than his actual game time.
Davies’ true impact may not be fully felt this season as he acclimates himself to Germany and the daunting task of training with a team full global stars. His future appears to be as one of the players earmarked to take over for Robben and Ribery in the summer. Robben has already made his planned exit public, while Ribery is expected to follow suit.
With Coman, Gnabry, and Muller all part of the current lot of players seeing time in the wing, Davies will likely do a lot of watching and learning. The Canadian’s ability to play left back could come in handy as well for Bayern, as David Alaba has no natural backup on the roster after Marco Freidl was loaned out to Werder Bremen last season and Juan Bernat left for Paris Saint-Germain last summer. Should Bayern advance deeper into the Champions League and DFB-Pokal, Davies’ ability to drop back and provide Alaba some rest could be a valuable asset in the Bundesliga.
When he's finally able to break through, the creativity and pace of Davies will be a match-up nightmare for most of Bayern's opponents.
Chris Richards
While the move for Davies saw him placed immediately on the first team, Richards and Booth will have to do battle in the Bayern youth ranks where they will have access to world-class coaching and facilities, along with an up-close view of how some of the greatest players in the world ply their trade.
Richards has joined Lars Lukas Mai in Bayern’s youth system, which is looking exceptionally solid with its defensive prospects. As far as the future goes, at least one of the veteran tandem of Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng is expected to leave Bavaria this summer. With Benjamin Pavard incoming from VfB Stuttgart and Niklas Süle as a holdover, Bayern now has a wealth of young talent along the back line, along with a solid pipeline of youth players who have the potential to develop into quality first team options.
Richards has a calm demeanor on the ball and has been tough to rattle on the pitch. Along with his mental strength, Richards has the ability to play physically and also has great vision and passing ability with both feet. Those attributes should help him immensely in his quest to earn a position on the first team.
Taylor Booth
Booth’s signing with Bayern marked a look into the future for the Bayern midfield. The central midfield group is the deepest and most talented position on the squad. With Leon Goretzka, Thiago Alcantara, James Rodriguez, Muller, Javi Martinez, and Renato Sanches all currently battling for playing time at the 10, 8, and 6 positions, the Bavarians have great depth and a surplus of skill. Even with Corentin Tolisso still working his way from a devastating knee injury, the group is loaded. The aforementioned arrival of Pavard could also free Joshua Kimmich up to play some defensive midfield, adding further depth to the Bayern grouping that could be the deepest in the world.
That logjam, however, should be on its way to be clearing out soon. Martinez, Sanches, and Rodriguez have all been rumored to possibly leave Bavaria, which could signal that Bayern is in the process of reloading its stable of midfielders, while Booth and others develop in the youth ranks.
Should he continue to progress, Booth could be ready to emerge for Bayern by the time players like Muller and Thiago are starting to settle into reduced roles.
Changing the trend of past attempts that have failed
It is not as if Bayern is all that new to embracing North American talent. Bayern has kept an eye on emerging talents stateside for years, but has not found longstanding success with many of its attempts.
Julian Green and Timothy Tillman are examples of two players who have not thrived under the microscope of Säbener Strasse. Green is currently grinding away with SpVgg Greuther Fürth, while Tillman has been unable to break through for FC Nurnberg while on loan.
In addition, Landon Donovan had a brief and forgettable loan stint with Bayern. The only North America native to really make an impact for Bayern has been the Canadian-born Owen Hargreaves, who played internationally for England.
Regardless, this current group of Davies, Richards, and Booth will be looking to set a new standard for how North Americans have performed with the Bavarian giants. The talented trio looks like it has the right mentality, skill, and overall talent to help change the perception of the North American talent base in Germany and beyond.
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