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Bayern Munich’s latest campus jewel, Franz Krätzig, has enjoyed a strong start to life in Bayern’s first team roster.
The Nuremburg-born prospect first burst onto the scene for Bayern scoring a left-footed rocket in a preseason friendly against Liverpool. Since then, the whiz-kid has not looked back, making his debut Bundesliga appearance in a 7-0 thrashing of VFL Bochum and just days later, netting his first competitive goal for Die Roten in a 4-0 victory over Preußen Münster in the DFB-Pokal.
The 20-year-old has mainly been deployed as a left-back for Bayern, so it may come as a surprise that he spent years playing as a central midfielder at youth level. Krätzig commented on the positional change in his latest interview with the club magazine.
You played in central midfield for years at youth level. How did you end up as a left back?
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) October 26, 2023
Krätzig: "You have to ask Holger Seitz actually. David Herold was sent on loan to Austria in the last winter break, and because of a lack of players Seitz thought he'd try me on the left…
Franz Krätzig joins a list of Bayern players who switched from midfield to full-back in order to take their first steps into the first team, such as: Philipp Lahm, Joshua Kimmich and most stylistically, David Alaba.
The chief point that stands out with Krätzig is his intelligence to make such a seamless switch from midfield to left-back, two very different positions. It is no coincidence that all the players who previously made this jump were, and still is in Kimmich’s case, some of Bayern’s most intelligent players. A positive sign indeed.
It is still unclear whether Frans Krätzig will follow in the footsteps of Lahm, Kimmich and Alaba. Although one thing is certain, the young left-back has a bright future ahead of him and Bayern fans will certainly be watching him in earnest this season.
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