Former Bayern technical director Michael Reschke recently opened up on how he was able to pull off one of Die Roten’s best signings, when he brought Joshua Kimmich to Bavaria.

The then 19-year-old right-back was playing for RB Leipzig when Reschke followed the German U-19 team to Hungary for their European Championship in 2014.

However, it took convincing from Reschke for him to go there in the first place. When the team was departing to the US for their preseason tour, club CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge wanted Reschke to come along. Reschke had other plans:

Mr. Rummenigge, this is a PR tour, do you really think I am going with you to America?

And so, while Bayern Munich took part in their American tour, Reschke watched as the German U-19 team won their third Euro championship in a 1-0 win over Portugal.

While Reschke watched, Kimmich played for Die Mannschaft, starting in both knockout games and all but one group stage game. Reschke instantly knew the young midfielder would do well for Bayern, so he decided to pull the trigger and approach Stuttgart.

It was clear to me: that is a player for Bayern Munich, although he hadn’t played a game in the second division yet.

Reschke got began to make plans on the way home:

I sent his agent Uli Ferber a message while I was still in the taxi: “We want Kimmich. He is going to be an FC Bayern player. We have to talk.”

A year later, Bayern signed Kimmich for 8.5 million euros, and the rest is history. Kimmich has been able to fill a key role since the departure of Philipp Lahm and is one of Germany’s best young defenders. And, thanks to Reschke, he’s wearing red.