Now that Bayern Munich’s U-19s’ winter break has started, it is a great time to look back at the season so far and evaluate it. In this article, the individual performance of the members of Bayern’s U-19 squad during the first half of the season will be graded from 1-6, with 1 being the best grade and 6 the worst. This encompasses all the matchdays (1-14) in the U-19 Bundesliga, the performance and elimination in the single round of the DFB-Junioren-Vereinspokal that was played, as well as all the participation in the UEFA Youth League (the U-19’s equivalent of the UEFA Champions League) up until the winter break. Not every player has played enough minutes to be fairly rated, however. So only players who have contested at least 270 minutes will be given a rating. Without further ado, here are the ratings:
Sejdo Durakov: 3
17, RW/LW, 288 minutes, 2 goals, 1 assist
Barely qualifying for a rating, Sejdo Durakov’s season has been one mired in frustrating inconsistency. Anybody who watched even just the highlights of the U-19’s draw with SSV Ulm could see just how good Durakov can be. He ran the show in the first half, demonstrating an amazing first touch and close control to dribble past defenders time and time again despite an utterly awful pitch as well as providing a goal threat by going close multiple times before scoring his well deserved goal. Yet, he was deservedly subbed off in the 68th minute after fading terribly. Despite staying injury free the entire Hinrunde, his incredible inconsistency and frustrating output ensured he did not get many chances even as others got injured.
Mudaser Sadat: 2
17, AM/LW, 382 minutes, 4 goals, 0 assists
Perhaps the most surprising inclusion in Vincent Kompany’s squad for the senior team’s pre-season, Mudaser Sadat took the momentum he gained from the inclusion into the start of the season and scored 4 goals within 4 games. This form then earned him a 45 minute appearance for the U-23s, before injury abruptly stopped all the momentum, kept him out for nearly 3 months and saw him unavailable until the end of the Hinrunde. Sadat will hopefully be injury free in the Rückrunde.
Oluwaseyi Wilson: 2-
17, LW/RW, 376 minutes, 2 goals, 2 assists
Oluwaseyi Wilson is, in many ways, the classic winger. His dribbling is superb, he is really difficult to stop once he has started, he has a good “weak” foot and is incredibly quick, making him a nightmare to defend against, but he struggles to make the right decision time and time again. That might explain why he was little more than a regular substitute this season, contributing with his electric pace against tired defenses, before, you guessed it, getting injured. He has a lot of potential if he gets that decision making right, though.
Sadiki Chemwor: 2
16, RW/LW, 496 minutes, 2 goals, 5 assists
Along with Roko Mijatović, Sadiki Chemwor is the only other 16 year-old to start the season with the U-19s. It showed early on, too, as Chemwor was guilty of some really sloppy giveaways and really naïve moments amid some really good ones and so was unable to earn himself a role in the staring XI. But he has steadily grown into his role in the U-19s and is getting more and more starts, helped by the many injuries in attack. His 2 goals and 5 assists perhaps do flatter him, though.
Tim Binder: 2+
17, RW, 854 minutes, 5 goals, 3 assists
Tim Binder is, funnily enough, rather the opposite to Wilson in many ways. He certainly does not have the searing pace or the irresistible dribbling skills Wilson does. In fact, the coaching staff has audibly gotten frustrated with him during games, with one of the coaching staff angrily muttering “he can’t beat his opponent one time” during a match. Binder is not very quick and has to rely on a lot more trickery to get by opponents. The German has about this skill move, the Elastico, that is comfortably his favorite option in one-on-one duels, to decidedly mixed results. Additionally, he is very reliant on his left foot.
However, Binder’s decision making is really quite good and his technique is on a different level. Some of the passes he has made and goals he has scored this season have been displays of utterly phenomenal technique. To a certain extent, he knows his limits and he usually finds a smart pass rather than trying to dribble past the opposing full back. Specifically when Bayern faces opponents that like to sit back, a technically brilliant winger like Binder who can float in amazing crosses, shoot really well and thread the needle is perfect. These qualities have kept Binder in a starting spot for most of the season in a fairly convincing performance over the whole Hinrunde.
Wisdom Mike: 2+
16, RW/LW, 304 minutes, 4 goals, 1 assist
Wisdom Mike, who many may know as the 13-year-old Bayern paid a lot of money to sign, is proving to be worth all that money. Whenever he gets the ball, you can just see that he has a spark of magic in him. He is rapid, small with wiry strength, is impossible to stop once he starts dribbling, keeps his head up and is unbelievably creative. Despite starting the season with the U-17s, his incredibly impressive season left coaches little choice but to consider a move up to the U-19s for him. Due to the squad being stocked full of great winger talent, Mike had to wait for an injury crisis on the wings to play.
When he finally got that chance, however, he immediately grabbed it and provided 3 of Bayern’s 4 goals in his 2 starts. Again, the German youth international had made it absolutely impossible to ignore him, which also led to cameos in the UEF Youth League, where he also grabbed an assist. Just to further emphasize his quality, Mike then used the last game of the Hinrunde to score an utterly amazing solo goal. How does Bayern fit Mike into the U-19s? Who knows, but the coaches will need to find a way to do it. He has more than earned that chance.
Simon Zsöls: NR
17, ST, 220 minutes, 1 goal, 0 assists
Being the far down the striker pecking order meant limited game time for Simon Zsöls.
Jason Eckl: 2-
17, ST, 533 minutes, 1 goal, 1 assist
The acquisition of another striker in the summer window put Jason Eckl’s previous status as first choice striker in question and forced him to share game time with the aforementioned other striker. When he did get his opportunities, he was fine. But he did not truly stand out or do enough to warrant making that striker spot in the starting XI his own.
Noah Codjo-Evora: 2
17, ST, 638 minutes, 4 goals, 0 assists
Bought in the summer from FC Annecy, the French man mountain of a striker was slowly introduced into the squad and enjoyed the slight edge on his German counterpart in Eckl. Codjo-Evora’s physical qualities play a big part in his ability to stand out, possessing both good speed and strength. His hold up play was somewhat lacking over the season and his adaption was not perfect, but he had a good start to life in Munich.
Felipe “Pipo” Chávez: 1
17, AM/ST, 1289 minutes, 8 goals, 12 assists
Felipe Chávez, who the squad generally calls Pipo, enjoyed a real blinder of a Hinrunde. The stats alone paint a pretty good picture of his achievements. The Peruvian playmaker was in thick of all that the U-19s did well, constantly getting involved in build up play, providing the creativity, flicks, tricks and dribbling to unlock the opposition backline as well as putting in the hard yards to track back. He was, at times, sloppy and made some poor passes, but that comes with taking so much responsibility in the build up play. The way his head never dropped is mightily impressive and lead to a much greater ratio of phenomenal, well executed moments of brilliance rather than duds.
Pipo’s stand out game has to the performance against Ingolstadt, in which he had a hand in every goal in a 6-0 win, racking up a goal and 5 assists. He even put in shifts at CF in the few games where the strikers were hurt and did a good job in the unfamiliar role of false 9. Again, 20 goal involvements in 1289 minutes for a goal contribution of around every 65 minutes is unbelievable. He was comfortably the U-19’s best forward of the 2024/25 Hinrunde.
Overall rating: 2+
The team scored 49 goals in 14 games, making it the 3rd best attack in all the preliminary league phases. That makes for a good performance. Durakov was the only genuine disappointment outside of injuries, as well, with everyone else performing at a good to great level. Though, of course, one has to hope that the team will be less afflicted with injuries next year.
