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The news earlier this week that Tim Walter, coach of Bayern II, would not be returning for another season surprised many familiar with Bayern Munich’s youth teams. Walter has led his teams to great success over the last two seasons. He won the B-Junioren Bundesliga with the U-17 team last year, and has led the second team to second place so far this season, an excellent result. Were it not for the relegated 1860 Munich, Bayern II would be in prime position to play in the promotional playoff to go up to the 3rd Bundesliga.
Now, though, Tim Walter has his sights set, not on the 3rd Bundesliga, but on the 2nd Bundesliga. In an interview, Walter said he’s looking “no lower than the 2nd Bundesliga.” Surely Walter will garner interest from a number of clubs looking for a coach. His track record speaks for itself.
Walter came to Bayern three years ago, joining from Karlsruhe for a fairly hefty fee (€200,000). There has been no word on the future of his assistant Tobi Schweinsteiger, Bastian Schweinsteiger's older brother, although it would be unfortunate if Bayern were unable to hold onto him. Schweinsteiger is regarded as a major coaching talent, and he completed his UEFA A License exam without making a single mistake. The only other person to do so in the last 17 years? Future Bayern PSG coach Thomas Tuchel.
All signs now point to Mehmet Scholl taking over Bayern II for the third time in his career. He was previously in charge for the 2008/09 and 2012/13 seasons. During his first tenure he led the team to a 8th place finish in the 3. Bundesliga with a squad that included the likes of Thomas Kraft, Diego Contento, and David Alaba.
During his second stint, the squad managed to finish second in the Regionalliga, the same league they’re in right now, and actually included a number of players that currently play top-flight football. Mitchell Weiser, Emre Can, Pierre Emile Hojbjerg, and Alessandro Schöpf have all managed to establish themselves as important players in their respective squads in the Bundesliga as well as abroad in the Premier League.