Mitchell Weiser: Bayern Munich Ostracising Forgotten Prodigy
Mitchell Weiser is blessed with speed, he can play two positions and possesses high upside and was one of the most highly rated players of his age group when he joined Bayern Munich.
Nowadays, he is sitting out his contract, which ends next June.
Entering his third season at Bayern, Weiser has played 140 minutes in the Bundesliga.
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This wasn't meant to be his story.
| Germany | RW/RB | 20 | 5'9" | 148 lbs |
Two years and eight months ago, then-Koln manager Stale Solbakken called up Weiser—at the time a 17-year-old rookie—for a Bundesliga game against Bayer Leverkusen.
Sitting on a bench inside the RheinEnergieStadion, Weiser watched on as fellow newcomer Jong Tae-Se—hoping to be North Korea's answer to Cha Bum-kun—was subbed on for his Koln debut.
Half an hour later, Solbakken gave the nod to Weiser, who "became the youngest Bundesliga player in Koln's history," per Koln's official website.
Tae-Se and Weiser would embark on distinctly different career paths.
Quitting the Bundesliga, Tae-Se later moved to K League team Suwon Samsung Bluewings in South Korea while Weiser dreamed big signing for German super club Bayern.
Impressing the UEFA and FIFA technical study groups as a star for Steffen Freund's German U17 national team convinced Bayern that Weiser was the real deal.
At the 2011 UEFA European U17 Championship, he made the tournament select squad, per UEFA's official website: "Germany's most dangerous penetrations on the flanks were attributable to their hard-running right-back Mitchell Weiser."
Against the world's best wunderkinds, Weiser was identified as an outstanding player at the 2011 FIFA U17 World Cup, per FIFA's official website: "Agile right-sided midfielder [who] is quick off the mark, [has] good passing and technique."
Weiser scored (three) and created (one) more combined goals (four) at that youth World Cup than the Netherlands' Memphis Depay (one goal, no assist).
This season, Weiser is watching Bayern from afar, while Depay is showing superstar potential at PSV Eindhoven averaging 0.88 goals per league game.
Another vital element which swayed Bayern management to pursue Weiser were his statistics at youth level for Koln.
He scored 14 goals and registered 22 assists in 47 games for the Koln U17s.
Losing sleep over a once-in-a-lifetime move slipping away, Weiser submitted a transfer request to Koln, laying the foundations for a €500,000/£396,190 transfer to Bayern, per Bild (h/t beIN Sports).
Poaching Koln talents was nothing new to Bayern, having signed Lukas Podolski (21; 2006) and Jurgen Kohler (23; 1989).
"It's been something very special to play [at Bayern]," Weiser said, per SPOX.com (h/t Mark Doyle at Goal.com). "But I'm not here to admire the stars."
How was Weiser initiated into Bayern? Admiring their stars.
During the first half of the 2012-13 season, he made the bench four times and was left out of the first-team squad 13 times.
"[Bayern sporting director] Matthias Sammer has indicated that we may send young Mitchell Weiser out on loan," then-Bayern Munich manager Jupp Heynckes said, per Bayern's official website (h/t Joe Wright at Goal.com). "But as things stand, we don't otherwise plan to do anything."
The way Heynckes phrased his response gave you the impression that an unfiltered answer would have sounded something like: "Weiser is not good enough, we're moving him out on loan and that will be the only personnel change this window."
Weiser appeared in 13 league games on loan at 2. Bundesliga club Kaiserslautern.
He linked up with the technically flawless Alexander Baumjohann, once described by The Guardian's Raphael Honigstein as a "prodigious bench-warmer" at Bayern.
An outrageously gifted No. 10 able to slide out wide, Baumjohann was once "in a competition with Mesut Ozil and Marko Marin" for a starting position in German U21 manager Horst Hrubesch's team.
Sure, injuries have wrecked Baumjohann's career, but then-Bayern manager Louis van Gaal's snap-judgement was right.
Baumjohann lacked the mental fortitude to capitalise on his natural ability.
The same applies to Weiser: Talented? Of course. Strong intangibles? Questionable.
Leading into the 2014 Regionalliga playoff for a spot in the 3. Liga, Erik ten Hag's Bayern Munich II were preparing against Fortuna Koln while Weiser shamelessly opted to go on holiday.
It was as if he believed he had been a vital first-team contributor to Pep Guardiola's side like David Alaba.
Insolently uploading an Instagram video of the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix illustrates that Weiser loves the lifestyle, but is not willing to work hard to be a star at Bayern.
While Weiser was enjoying his holidays, his mates were crying in the aftermath of a soul-crushing loss to Fortuna Koln.
Work ethic aside, Weiser's body is breaking down (the only thing he has in common with Bayern's stars).
September 5, 2014, per Bayern's official website: "Mitchell Weiser (knee ligaments) started running last week and worked out in the performance centre on Friday."
July 9, 2014, per Bayern's official website: "Mitchell Weiser (ankle) and Thiago continued sports rehab programs."
Also, here is a minor issue to note:
- Weiser forfeited his No. 23 shirt to Pepe Reina.
- According to Bayern's team shop, Weiser was allocated the No. 24 shirt.
- However, the Bayern's first-team squad list now has Sinan Kurt as No. 24 and Weiser as No. 30.
Three plausible explanations:
- Weiser likes to change his mind.
- It is an administrative error on Bayern's part (listing him as No. 24 instead of No. 30).
- Bayern catered to Kurt's request and forced Weiser to change his number (again).
If the third option is true, then Bayern's actions speak volumes.
Unless Weiser improves his attitude, he will be let go at the end of the season.
When not specified, statistics via WhoScored
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