Though we come to know Bayern for the superstars they possess, the German champions also have a number of talented younsters in their ranks. Gianluca Gaudino is one such individual, Alankrith Shankar has this Scout Report on him.

The pre-season is well underway for the German Domestic Champions, Bayern Munich as Pep Guardiola, prepares his squad for the season. One of the youngsters making a lot of good noises during the pre-season is German Gianluca Gaudino. The 17 year old is the son of Maurizio Gaudino, the midfielder who was a firm fan favourite at VfB Stuttgart during his peak.

The young German has taken his opportunity in the absence of the World Cup heroes and has played with great finesse and style in the pre-season games so far for the German champions and has also received the plaudits of Pep Guardiola, who said ‘As as youngster, it is obviously difficult to play better than what he has been playing in the past few games’

Who is Gianluca Gaudino?

Gaudino, is another youth product from the prolific youth academy of Bayern Munich. Gaudino was given his debut for the U-17 Bayern Munch side in the Bundesliga U-17 competition in the 2012-13 season. Although, he was not present in the squad for the first game vd Augsburg U-17, Gaudino made it to the team for the second game of the season against Mainz 05 U-17, in which he was played as the defensive midfielder.

Of the 26 games in the competition, Gaudino made 24 appearances starting 23 and coming on as a second half substitute against Kaiserslautern U-17. Playing as a central midfielder/defensive midfielder in the team, he was not a potential goal threat but did score 1 goal in the whole season, against Hoffenheim U-17 which was a 4-0 win for the Bayern U-17 side. Gaudino completed a very successful season with the U-17 squad making 24 appearances not receiving a single booking. The coaches were happy with his development and hence was promoted to the U-19 squad, just one year after he tasted some success in the U-17 team.

Gaudino joined up with his new team mates and soon made a name for himself as he was immediately picked in the squad for the first game of the season v Frankfurt U-19, but unfortunately was only on the bench as an unused substitute; he came on as a second half substitute in the next couple of games. In this season, Gaudino made 22 appearances in the Bundesliga U-19 competition, with 19 starts finishing the season with four assists to his name.

Besides the Bundesliga U-19, Bayern U-19 were taking part in the UEFA Youth Cup and Gaudino played a key role in the competition for his side as he made 5 appearances (starting 4), scoring 1 goal and assisting 1 in the home and away victories against Viktoria Plzen U-19. Gaudino, again completed the season with 0 red cards (3 yellow cards), developed his game to a new level as an attacking mid fielder and earned plaudits from team mates, senior coaches and board members. The player was shortly informed he will be part of the FC Bayern first team squad for the pre-season as coach Pep Guardiola was impressed by some of his performances.

Gaudino made his 3rd start for the first team against Chivas (after making his debut v Monchengladbach in the Telekom Cup) in New Jersey last week alongside the clubs new signing, Sebastian Rode. The duo have somewhat developed a good chemistry and with Hojberg as the central attacking midfielder, the trio in the centre had been making life tough for their opposition. The trio was simply terrorizing Wolfsburg in the 3-0 victory in the Telekom Cup finals.

Style, Strengths & Weaknesses



The coaches of the Bayern U-17 used Gianluca Gaudino mostly as a central or defensive midfielder due to his ability to pass the ball with precision and break down counters, regularly starting free flowing attacks; the youngster was also asked to play as a left-winger occasionally. Though he was not suited for the position and it showed in the results of the team as they lost every game Gaudino played in that winger position.

As stated previously, Gaudino was used as a central midfielder in the U-19 squad, but the more predominant role he played in the was as an attacking midfielder. This was the season Gaudino really transformed as a player. Since being used as an attacking mid and not as a central or defensive one, Gaudino improved on his link up play with his midfield counterparts as he formed the key centre piece of the system, stringing passes together and feeding the wingers and strikers. His vision and pin-point passing made him play the role with ease and due to his tackling and intercepting abilities, he was also able to help out the central midfield pair behind him in defending counter attacks.

Some of the biggest advantages that Bayern have in Gaudino, is that the youngster rarely/barely makes a mistake and has a keen sense to shift the game into space, stealing lost balls; more importantly, his passing fits perfectly into the Pep Guardiola philosophy. These attributes make him one of the most indispensable products who have risen through the ranks of the Bayern youth academy in recent times, including Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and another celebrity son, Lucas Scholl (son of Bayern Munich legend, Mehmet Scholl). But according to some of the youth coaches, Gaudino is potentially as good as Hojbjerg and better than Scholl.

What Gaudino now needs to do is not let his performances and praises get to his head, but keep following his development process as planned by the coaching staff at the German outfit. As his father says “You may make it to the class, but it is not so easy to play for Bayern. You must first grow in responsibility, then in to the playing philosophy of Bayern and then become better from year to year. You will feel cared for at a club like Bayern but you must make your own way. ” (quoted by Sport Bild, translated on Google)

What the future holds for Gianluca Gaudino, lies in his own hands. Bayern mould their young talents and win trophies with a homegrown side as per club philosophy and with players such as Gaudino making it to the first team squad, the trend looks to continue safely.

Written by Alankrith Shankart. Follow him on Twitter @alanbinga

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