Tiago Dantas earns rave reviews in Bayern Munich II debut

If there was a focal point of Bayern Munich II’s 0-0 draw with FC Kaiserslautern for fans, it was the debut of Portuguese youngster Tiago Dantas.

The 19-year-old might be slight of build, but he makes up for it with excellent technical skills, precise passing, and incredible anticipation. For a first impression, Dantas hit the ball out of the park.

“He played a really inspiring game,” said Bayern Munich II manager Holger Seitz (per Abendzeitung). “He always thinks offensively and vertically, you can see the Portuguese mentality. We will have a lot of fun with him.”

That last part is key. Rather than being a midfielder who relies on making the safe passes to ensure his passing percentages stay high, Dantas looks to push the ball forward and take chances to initiate the offense.

Abendzeitung went so far as to compare him to Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara. While that may be premature, the Benfica loanee served himself well by starting out with such a stellar performance.

As Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidzic told Sport Bild (captured by Abenzeitung): “Tiago is a really good footballer who we’ve been watching for two-and-a-half years. Let him surprise you.”

If Dantas keeps this up, Bayern Munich’s option-to-buy provision in its loan agreement with Benfica will become a formality, even with the deal’s somewhat unfavorable terms regarding an alleged 25% sell-on fee.