Bayern Munichs Upcoming Talent Julian

Green, Alessandro Schopf, Pierre-Emile

Hjbjerg
By Siddharth Mohan on December 2, 2013 | 0 Comments
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Bayern Munich waltzed to their 10 consecutive win in the Uefa Champions League dusting
aside the 11 years old record held by FC Barcelona. The dipping mercury (-6 oC) and the
continuous snowing had no effect on the Bavarians as goals from Robben, Gtze and Muller
gave them plenty of things to smile about on their way back to Germany. But the win and the
new record werent the only reasons one particular young man was smiling about as he sat
amongst his new teammates on the way back home. American born Julian Green had come
on as a 88th minute substitute for Bayern Munich in place of Mario Gtze and though he
didnt get the time to showcase his talent, would have been quite pleased to have made it on
to the pitch.
Highly rated Green is one amongst the many that have come out of Bayern Munichs famed
youth system. From the class of 1970 that won 3 European titles and formed the core of the
World cup winning side of 1974 to the treble winning side of last season, the youth academy
has time and again come up with some excellent recruits. With the production line churning
out stars over the decades, it would not be wrong to expect more out of it. The Hard Tackle
takes a look at the new ones coming out.

Julian Green

Greens impressive showings has earned him a senior contract

18 year old American born Left winger/Striker Julian Green has been on the news for quite a
while for his showings in the colours of Bayern II in the Regionalliga Bayern. Blessed with
pace, dribbling skills and a lethal strike, Green has predominantly featured as a left winger or

as a centre forward for Bayern II this season although his appearances for Germany U-19 has
also seen him manning the right side of the pitch.
Born in Tampa, Florida, young Green has been hit a purple patch right from beginning of the
season and has so far scored 15 and assisted 6 in his 18 appearances for Bayern II which
included a brilliant hattrick against FC Schweinfurt 05 and four braces. His performances
certainly havent gone unnoticed with former Bayern coach and current United States Mens
National Team boss Jrgen Klinsmann calling up Green to represent his nation of birth.
Green though declined to join up USMNT and instead opted for his adopted nation turning
out for the Deutschland U19. Called up for the senior squad by Pep Guardiola, Green
travelled with his new teammates to CSKA Moscow and made the much awaited debut
replacing Gtze to play in the centre forward role.
A regular feature for Bayern II, Green has been instrumental in helping his side notch out 9
straight wins at the start of the season before losing to Eintracht Bamberg. What would please
the Bayern top brass is that 9 of his 15 goals have come when playing as a centre forward, a
position the Bayern senior side lacking backups with only Mandzukic and the aging Pizarro
in the roster as designated strikers with Muller and Gotze filling in.
Bayern II coach Eirk ten Haag has praised Greens dedication and talent saying He has the
makings to fight his way into the pro team, while some of his new teammates are quite
pleased with his appetite to succeed.

Alessandro Schopf

Attacking midfielder Alessandro Schopf

19 year old attacking midfielder would probably not have been in the limelight had not
another promising midfielder Pierre-Emile Hjbjerg gotten injured on matchday 5 of the
Regionalliga Bayern. Slotted into the central midfield of the 4-1-4-1, Schopf has been
phenomenal this season leading proceedings from midfield alongside Tobias Schweinsteiger
for Bayern reserves. In his 19 appearances so far, most of them in the starting 11, Schopf has
scored 8 while setting up 3 but more importantly has been a key component for the side in
dictating proceedings from the middle of the park.
A midfielder possessing the lethal combination of vision and excellent ball control, Schopf
was the first to receive the call-up from the senior side in September of this season. Yet to
feature in a matchday line-up, the young Austrian midfielder has impressed the Bayern bosses

with some excellent training sessions. Called up for the Austrian U-21 side, Schopf becomes
the second player from Bayern after David Alaba to feature in international games for Austria
in recent times.
Schopf moved to Bayern from AKA Tirol in Austria 4 years back and featured regularly for
Bayern U-15. His showings on the pitch last season for Bayern II earned him many plaudits
as he scored 11 goals and 8 assists in the 4-2-3-1 system. But he has blossomed in the 4-1-41, a system that has certainly given him more freedom to find himself in attacking positions
and given him more opportunities in terms of dictating the play. But with a midfield that
positively oozes talents in Gotze, Kroos, Thiago and Martinez, young Schopf will definitely
find it hard to break into the side. But having signed him up from the reserves, Bayern have
definitely signaled their intentions of holding on to the young star and a loan opportunity
looks to be the likely path for the young attacker.

Pierre-Emile Hjbjerg

Schweinsteigers successor?
Not as adventurous as Alessandro Schopf, 18 year old Hjbjerg is more in the Bastain
Schweinsteiger mould bridging the attack and defense. He is also the youngest player to put
on a Bayern shirt and appear for the senior side when made a substitute appearance against 1.
FC Nrnberg towards the end of last season. Yet to make one this term, Hjbjerg has largely
been found warming the bench with Bayern bolstering their midfield with the acquisitions of
Gotze and Thiago.
Hjbjerg came to prominence last season with some inspirational performances for Bayern II
last season with 30 appearances in the middle of park scoring 8 goals and assisting one. His
showings earned him two substitute appearances for the senior side. Known for his ball
winning abilities the central midfielder has suffered injuries this season limiting his time to
display his talents but has scored 3 goals and assisting one in the 10 games hes played. He
was also part of the Bayern Munich senior matchday squad in their Champions League ties
against Viktoria Plzen and CSKA Moscow. More recently he featured on the bench against
Eintracht Braunschweig . Internationally, the Danish midfielder recently showed his class in
the U-21 Euro qualifiers scoring a brace against Slovenia.

Others

Mitchell Weiser, Patrick Weihrauch and Rankovic have all received senior contracts over the
last one year but are yet to feature for the Bavarian giants. Weiser and Rankovic have
featured in plenty of pre-season games with the former making his official debut in Bayerns
1-0 win over Viktoria Plzen in the Champions league. A right winger by trade, Mitchell
Weiser moved from 1. FC Kln to Bayern last season and was loaned out to 2 nd tier side 1. FC
Kaiserslautern. His time with Kasiserslautern was a fruitful one with the winger featuring
prominently for the side in their push for promotion.
Serbian-German Vladimir Rankovic known for his dribbling and crosses from out wide is
primarily a right winger but can play at right back if needed. This season he has largely
featured on the right flank playing 21 games for Bayern II. Dennis Chessa, a 21 year old is
another name that is lighting up the Regionalliga Bayern this season with some inspired
showings at left back.