Despite being one of the world’s premier soccer clubs, Bayern Munich have failed to reach the heights of other clubs around them in Europe, making both incredibly aggressive managerial changes and conservative squad building decisions.
With a disappointing Champions League exit to Inter Milan already, Bayern will once again be settling for a domestic trophy this season. It would be hard to argue they haven’t had success, 10 out of the last 11 Bundesliga titles and a Champions League is certainly an impressive trophy cabinet. But the Bavarian giants still have yet to take the next step forward to becoming a European powerhouse and place themselves amongst the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester City.
Possibly the biggest reason behind this is a failure to look beyond domestic glory. Historically, Bayern have continuously built their squad through picking up the best players from teams below them in the Bundesliga. Which, of course, would give them a very good Bundesliga team.
However, zero players who have played over 1,000 minutes this season in the Bundesliga so far have come from their academy. While there’s certainly no requirement that the best European teams need to play their academy players, both a good youth network and more importantly, a clear pathway, is a crucial part of future-proofing a squad.
Bayern have the second-highest average age in the Bundesliga at 28.4 and while their current squad is clearly getting the job done, they lack clear successors for the stars of the previous generation. The biggest consequence of this situation is the emergence of Stuttgart midfielder Angelo Stiller, a former Bayern academy graduate himself.
Stiller left the Bayern academy for pastures new in 2021, joining Hoffenheim on a free transfer. He was not sold for pure profit, as many young players are now in the new PSR transfer era, instead he was a forgotten part of an overall underwhelming youth strategy in Stiller’s hometown of Munich.
With Stiller expecting to receive a call up to the first team for at least cup games, Bayern went out and bought two new midfielders. Both Tiago Dantas and Marc Roca were brought in, with Roca making 15 appearances in two years and Dantas leaving the following summer after his purchase option was not picked up by Bayern.
“It was like a slap in the face. I was counting on getting the chance to go up and being able to train (with the first team),” Stiller told Sky Germany. “Then on the last day I learned from the press that players were signed to play in my position, so of course I was shocked and not happy about it.”
The fact that Stiller’s path was blocked by two poor signings and that he wasn’t given an explanation proves that their handling of academy talents progress and their mental well-being is nowhere near the standards of other big clubs.
Stiller was eventually snapped up by Stuttgart in 2023 for just €5.5 million, helping them to an impressive second place finish, above Bayern Munich. While Stiller was certainly a big part of the team that season, his breakout campaign has come in this year’s Bundesliga, where the 24 year-old has emerged as one of Europe’s best passers. Stiller’s eight assists on the year is certainly impressive, but it's his ball progression that really proves how exceptional of a midfield general he is.
Stiller ranks fourth in all of Europe’s top-five leagues for progressive passes, behind the aforementioned Kimmich, Pedri, and Granit Xhaka. As well as fifth for passes into the penalty area, behind the same three players as well as Juventus’ Manuel Locatelli. Those are all some of Europe’s established pass-masters, and to be alongside them in important statistical categories proves that he deserves his name amongst Europe’s best midfielders.
Stiller’s importance to his team is perhaps best shown by his usage rate. The German midfielder ranks eighth in Europe for overall touches of the ball, a category more often dominated by ball-playing center backs. Stiller is also in the top fifteen for passes attempted, proving that the Bundesliga side’s attacking play runs through him.
Stiller has been so important to Stuttgart’s offense, that he’s really the only player that causes any offensive threat other than goal scoring. In their record 2023-24 season, Stuttgart ranked second in line-breaking passes per match, but near the bottom in plays that resulted in a progressive action following the pass. Showing that the team often fails to add onto his initiative and further it into a real chance.
One could argue that this is an indication that Stiller’s pass selection is the cause of this, that the team loses the ball or fails to do anything with his passes because they aren’t forward-thinking. However, this would not be an accurate statement because the passes on these data sets are all what are called ‘line-breaking passes’. They are passes that go forward and cut through a line of opposition defense, be it a midfield partnership or a defensive setup out wide. So it isn’t that Stiller’s pass selection doesn’t result in good attacking play, it’s that his passing output is so high level that the rest of the team pales in comparison
Cementing himself as a midfield general that holds an absurd amount of attacking responsibility is an impressive feat for a player whose career didn’t get off to the cleanest of stars, as he would admit himself. “[It was] Rocky at first, but now things are definitely looking up,” Stiller told the official Bundesliga website. “I wasn't really going anywhere until I switched to Stuttgart, and since I’ve been here, I just feel extremely comfortable.
At just 24 years old and with under 100 senior appearances under his belt, this bodes incredibly well for a young midfield prodigy who looks to model his game after Toni Kroos.
“Nobody can replace Toni Kroos! For me, he is the best German player of all time," Stiller said. “If the national coach trusts me to play his role, then I'm obviously happy. Toni and I are similar in terms of playing style, and just like him, I try to put my stamp on the game with my strengths." (SportBild)
The midfielder's impressive form has not only been picked up by German media outlets, but by Julian Nagelsmann and the national team as well. Stiller earned the call up to the national team in August 2024, and given the fact that Stiller was the only new addition after the retirement of Toni Kroos, the writing appears to be on the wall.
“About both of the boys, I think they have a big future ahead of them,” Nagelsmann said about young midfielders Pavlovic and Stiller. “Pavlović I knew beforehand. I must say I am a bit of a fan of Angelo Stiller and I played against him in the Champions League.”
“I was impressed by his calmness on the ball. He was rarely nervous and has a big future ahead of him if he stays fit.”
Going from a forgotten Bayern academy player, to one of Europe’s best passers in a matter of years is the progression any coach would want from a player who looks to follow in the footsteps of the German legend Kroos. If Stiller continues to grow as a player and continue his trajectory as an elite passer, he may be able to fill the shoes of his idol.