Why Mitchell Weiser Was Bayern Munich's Biggest Winner from Doha Winter Camp

Bayern Munich returned to Germany following their winter training camp in Doha, Qatar last weekend. The German giants spent eight days in the Arabian peninsula state, which in recent years has become their Middle Eastern home away from home.

After more than a week of tough work but accommodating weather, no Bayern player returned home with a bigger smile than Mitchell Weiser. Nearly three years into his career at the Munich club, the 20-year-old finally began to impose himself.

As reported by German tabloid Bild, before the camp began, sporting director Matthias Sammer gave a motivational speech to youngsters like Weiser and Sinan Kurt. The former sweeper challenged his players to give everything they could, emphasizing that showing up is not enough and demanding that they exhibit a certain "wow" factor. And the Koln academy graduate responded as best he could.

After impressing in training, Weiser was given the chance to start in Bayern's first friendly match of the camp, against the Qatar Stars, at right-back. He scored twice within the opening quarter-hour and was rewarded as the only Bayern man to play the full 90 minutes.

Days later, Weiser put in another good shift, this time against Al-Hilal. Although he didn't get his name on the scoresheet, he impressed enough to justify again being the only Bayern player given the duration of the match to assert himself. The only dark spot on Weiser's performance was being caught flat-footed as Salem Al-Dawsari turned on the afterburners and scored a late consolation goal.

Prior to the training camp, Weiser had been written off by many of the Bayern faithful, perhaps even many at his club. Given the number 23 shirt (in honor of his idol, Michael Jordan) following his move from Koln, the arrival of Pepe Reina last summer saw Weiser surrender his favored number to the ex-Liverpool goalkeeper before he was reassigned the number 24. But when Kurt arrived later in the summer, the 18-year-old was given Weiser's number.

Once a huge prospect at Koln, Weiser had become a nobody at Bayern. His only Bundesliga appearance in the first half of the campaign came with his substitution in the 92nd minute of Bayern's last match of the term, and he only was named to Pep Guardiola's matchday squad for domestic league matches on two occasions. His success during the training camp was, to say the very least, improbable.

To see Weiser finally make his first steps at Bayern was a look into the past. Not since his move to Munich had he displayed the kind of confidence and skill that had made him a key player in Germany's youth setup. At the 2011 under-17 World Cup, he was initially a right-back before replacing the injured Marvin Ducksch and scoring and assisting three goals apiece. There was something reminiscent of Dani Alves in his style of play, and Weiser's dribbling and clever tricks in the third-place match against Brazil caused even the Samba stars to applaud.

Three-and-a-half years after making a name for himself at the under-17 World Cup, and two-and-a-half years after leaving the comfort of Koln for the pressure of Munich, Weiser has finally started to assert himself. His task remains daunting, to displace the likes of Philipp Lahm, Rafinha and possibly Sebastian Rode as options ahead of him in the lineup. Bayern have the most important stretch of their campaign ahead of them and cannot tolerate the mistakes that perhaps can be expected from a young right-back with very little professional experience.

Weiser has just six months left on his Bayern contract. For the Troisdorf native, it's now or never to prove himself to the Munich giants. He's made very encouraging progress this month, surprising many and emerging as the standout winner from Bayern's training camp. But tougher challenges are still to come.

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