Bayern Munich poach Augsburg talents, continue to show commitment to youth improvement

In recent...Years? Decades? Centuries? Bayern has been accused of "stealing" talent away from other Bundesliga teams in an effort to not only strengthen their own squad, but also to weaken the opposition they face week in, week out. While I don't believe this to be true for a number of reasons, recent actions by the team and their officials will certainly not do anything to lessen that belief.

SportBild is reporting that, after the Bayern U-13 team took a 7-1 beating at the hands of the Augsburg U-13s, the club went out and recruited both the Augsburg youth coach and 5 (!) of his talented players. On top of the Augsburg bunch, Bayern also plan to bring in Schalke U-19 coach Norbert Elgert, who has played a big hand in developing World Cup winners such as Bennedikt Höwedes, Manuel Neuer, Mesut Özil, and Julian Draxler, though he probably wouldn't make a move to Bavaria until his contract with Schalke expires after the 2017/18 season,

This renewed focus on the youth department has been spearheaded by Uli Hoeneß himself, though he is no longer officially in charge/working with the youth levels since early February. Despite this, Hoeneß has reportedly been a steady presence at the Säbener Straße even during his vacation, checking in on the progress of the youth system twice a week. The club wants to consistently bring top talent through its ranks again, and they believe that with this plan, they'll achieve it in five years at the latest.

As a fan, this is something to get very excited about. There's nothing better than homegrown players not only making the breakthrough into the first team, but establishing themselves as first team regulars. It's something that the club has sorely been missing over the last several years, and seeing them invest this heavily in changing it has me feeling very good about the future of this club.