Bayern Munich announces 2018-2019 UEFA Champions League squad

Bayern Munich’s official 2018-2019 UEFA Champions League squad has been announced (UEFA.com). The main players are, of course, no surprise, but there are a number of young men from Bayern’s youth ranks who feature not only on the “B List” (for players born on or after January 1, 1995), but even on the 25-man A List.

The A List

Here is a rundown of the 25 players on Bayern Munich’s A List (in order of jersey number):

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer, Sven Ulreich

Defenders: Niklas Süle, Mats Hummels, Rafinha, Jerome Boateng, David Alaba, *Joshua Kimmich, Lars Lukas Mai

Midfielders: Thiago Alcantara, Franck Ribéry, Javi Martínez, Arjen Robben, James Rodríguez, Leon Goretzka, Wooyeong Jeong, Corentin Tolisso, Paul Will, Renato Sanches

Forwards: Sandro Wagner, Robert Lewandowski, Serge Gnabry, Thomas Müller, Kingsley Coman

The names that immediately stand out are center-back Lukas Mai and midfielders Wooyeong Jeong (whom our own Berni15 just profiled here) and Paul Will. all of whom we have seen variously this past preseason. It will be interesting to see whether they log Champions League minutes during the group stage.

*Oddly enough, Joshua Kimmich is listed alongside the midfielders on UEFA’s website. An oversight — or perhaps a sign of Niko Kovac’s plans for Kimmich?

The B List

Several more youth players were included on Bayern’s B List:

Goalkeepers: Christian Früchtl, Ron-Torben Hoffmann

Defenders: Maxime Awoudja (check out this goal highlight)

Midfielders: Jonathan Meier, Meritan Shabani

Forwards: Oliver Batista Meier, Frank Evina, Maximilian Franzke