Report: Sandro Wagner set to become Bayern’s U-19 coach

Bayern Munich’s U-19 team has been underperforming for the last two years. Despite being able to boast some phenomenal talent in the likes of Paul Wanner, Arijon Ibrahimovic, Alexsandar Pavlović and much more, the perennial Bundesliga champions have seen their U-19 team drop to 9th and 5th place finishes in the last two seasons. Therefore, news that currennt head coach Danny Galm may be stepping down in the summer are not too surprising. The potential replacement is a surprise, though.

According to reporter Tobi Altschäffl, as captured by @iMiaSanMia, Bayern want former Bayern player Sandro Wagner to return to Munich as U-19 coach. Wagner has spent the last two years coaching SpVgg Unterhaching in the Regionalliga, which seems to be enough for the Bayern hierarchy to appoint him as the U-19 coach in the summer. In fact, Altschäffl reports that talks have already taken place for the 35-year-old.

BFW Analysis

This is going to be a very opinionated section. But this would be an awful appointment, there is no better way to say it. The positives to his appointment is that he is a former Bayern player and that his SpVgg Unterhaching side did win the Regionalliga this season, pipping Bayern II on the way to qualifying for a playoff into the 3. Liga despite massive financial troubles. However, the positives end there.

SpVgg Unterhaching have been a thuggish side ever since Wagner joined, taking advantage of poor refereeing in their fourth tier of German football by fouling left, right and center without big punishments. When their players feel a touch, however, they crumple to the ground as if they’ve been shot. In short, they are a genuinely disgusting team, whose disgusting behavior can be traced back directly to Wagner. This is not the kind of football Bayern’s young players should be learning.

Furthermore, the team lacks quality in a lot of other coachable areas. The club’s football is stilted, coordination is limited and their performances on the pitch leave a lot to be desired. Which are many of the same complaints Galm got about his Bayern U-19 side. Without Unterhaching’s mastery of the dark arts, the team would never have won the league. Wagner does not have a lot of good things he can teach Bayern’s young players. He should stay far away from this coaching role.