The next debutants' ball! 16-year-old makes his professional debut for FC Bayern Munich against Union Berlin

Two FCB youngsters had already made their debuts in the Champions League round of 16 second leg against Atalanta Bergamo, due to the German record champions’ tight squad situation. Deniz Ofli and Filip Pavic both came on as substitutes in the second half.

On Saturday, Kompany was once again without a number of players. Whilst Nicolas Jackson (red card), Luis Diaz (two yellow cards) and Jonathan Tah (five yellow cards) were suspended, Jamal Musiala (ankle problems), Alphonso Davies (thigh injury), Manuel Neuer (muscle tear) and Sven Ulreich (muscle strain) were all sidelined through injury. In addition, Aleksandar Pavlovic had to pull out at short notice due to hip problems.

Della Rovere and Osmani both play in midfield. The former joined Munich in 2024 from Cremonese’s youth academy. The Italian is already a regular in the reserve team in the Bavarian Regional League, having scored four goals and provided ten assists in 21 league matches. Osmani, on the other hand, has been part of Bayern’s youth setup since 2017 and has so far featured exclusively for the U17s. 

Defenders Pavic and Ofli were also back in the squad. Goalkeeper Leonard Prescott and attacking midfielder Mayon Cardozo were two further talents in the squad. The latter had already made his debut against Gladbach and was also given a few minutes’ action against Union. The bench was completed by Raphael Guerreiro, Hiroki Ito and Tom Bischof.