Mystery man making impact at Bayern

As FC Bayern München prepare for their first season under Louis van Gaal, 20-year-old defender Holger Badstuber is bidding for a first-team place, with his mentor at youth level Hermann Gerland saying: "Holger is outstanding."

Mystery man
Fans at Bayern's pre-season engagements have been taken aback more than once by the presence of a mysterious 1.90m-tall defender alongside the likes of Philipp Lahm, Miroslav Klose and Mario Gómez in post-match autograph sessions. However, Badstuber is unlikely to remain a mystery man for long, with the left-footed centre-back already being earmarked for greatness.

Outstanding talent
Badstuber joined Bayern from VfB Stuttgart's reserve team at the age of 13, explaining: "My father always wanted me to play for Bayern." The 55-year-old Gerland, Bayern's youth coach and now Van Gaal's assistant, has high standards, once saying that "good" was the best accolade any player ever got from him, but he made an exception for Badstuber, noting: "Holger is outstanding."

Regular starter
Van Gaal possibly agrees. Yet to make his Bundesliga debut, the defender has been a regular starter in training games and pre-season friendlies. Calm in possession and strong in the air, he has shown excellent passing skills – honed under Gerland, who once played him as a defensive midfielder in Bayern's third division reserve team even though he had long had him marked out as a full-back.

Opening up
Van Gaal, however, may have other plans for Badstuber. "I must say, being naturally left-footed is a big advantage in terms of being the left-sided central defender," the former AZ Alkmaar coach mused. With new signing Edson Braafheid seemingly earmarked for the left-back slot and Lucio having left for FC Internazionale Milano, it may be that a place is opening up for Badstuber.

Positive assessment
The consensus is that the youngster deserves a chance. Team-mate Mark van Bommel said "he is showing us what he is capable of" while Daniel Van Buyten – Badstuber's central-defensive partner for much of pre-season – added: "He has already learned a lot. He talks more with every training session and is always trying to improve. It is going well between us; we are improving day by day."

German Terry
Badstuber did not feature in Bayern's 3-1 German Cup win at SpVgg Neckarelz at the weekend, but he may yet come in for their Bundesliga opener against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Saturday, where he will look to mark himself out as the German version of a well-regarded Chelsea FC defender. "John Terry is as hard as nails as a central defender," Badstuber said. "He is rugged and strong in the air. As he is almost as tall as I am, I try to copy a lot from the way he plays."