Matthäus Surprised: Two Former Bayern Talents as DFB Hopes? | OneFootball

Following the team’s early World Cup exit, Lothar Matthäus is calling for a shake-up in the DFB squad. The all-time record holder for national team appearances is bringing two former Bayern youngsters into the mix, of all people.

The elimination in the Round of 32 against Paraguay continues to reverberate—and has sparked a broad debate about the future of the national team. In his column for BILD, Matthäus calls on Jürgen Klopp—who is likely to become the next national team coach—to show more courage in promoting young talent. The message is to consistently rely on young players.

Matthäus specifically names several promising young players. In addition to Finn Jeltsch, Yann Aurel Bisseck, and Kevin Schade, the names Adin Licina and Robert Ramsak also come up.

Attacking midfielder Licina transferred from Munich’s reserve team to Juventus in Turin this winter. However, the Landshut native and U-19 national team player has not yet made an appearance for the “Old Lady’s” first team.

Ramsak spent ten years in Bayern’s youth system

Forward Ramsak came up through the FC Bayern youth system and is currently under contract with RB Leipzig.

Ramsak, born in Munich in 2006, spent ten years—from 2014 to 2024—in the youth system of Germany’s record-holding champions. In the 2022–23 season, he was the top scorer in the B-Junior Bundesliga South/Southwest with 19 goals. That same year, he was part of the German U17 team that first won the European Championship and then went on to win the World Championship. As the best German striker of his age group, he was considered one of the country’s greatest talents at the time.

Photo: IMAGO

In 2024, he took the next step: Ramsak moved from FC Bayern to RB Leipzig on a free transfer. However, the breakthrough he had hoped for has yet to materialize. He has not yet made an appearance for Leipzig’s first team; instead, he has been sent out on loan—first to Eintracht Braunschweig in the 2. Bundesliga, and later to SV Sandhausen in the Regionalliga. His record was sobering: no goals and just one assist in 19 games.

This makes it all the more surprising that Matthäus is now bringing up the recently struggling forward as a candidate for the DFB’s future. Ramsak will return to Leipzig for the upcoming season for the time being, though another loan is considered likely. In the strong offensive lineup under new coach Martin Demichelis, the youngster is unlikely to break into the starting lineup right away.