Lennart Karl has made impressive progress at FC Bayern in a very short time. The 18-year-old made the leap from the youth academy to the professional squad and has already celebrated a goal in the Champions League. The attacking player himself hadn’t expected things to happen so quickly. In an interview with DAZN, Karl now looks back on his first few months with the Bayern first team.
The youngster revealed that he initially had doubts about whether he would be able to establish himself under coach Vincent Kompany. “At first, I thought it would be difficult to get playing time, but then I was brought on occasionally, got a few minutes on the field, and was able to show my strengths,” Karl explained.
With every appearance, the attacking talent’s confidence grew. Brief substitute appearances gradually turned into greater opportunities to prove himself at the highest level.
Karl recalls his first appearances for Bayern
The 18-year-old especially remembers his first starts. “Then I was in the starting lineup for the first time—I think it was against Hoffenheim, or maybe against Wiesbaden. I’d say I played a good game then,” Karl reported.
This was followed by his first direct contributions to goals. “Then came Hoffenheim, and I provided my first assist, and then came Bruges, and then the goal went in—I think in the fourth or fifth minute,” the attacking player recalled.
The goal against Club Brugge in the Champions League was a particularly special moment for Karl.
After all, he had dreamed of playing on Europe’s biggest club stage ever since he was a child.
“The Champions League has always been a dream.”
It wasn’t until looking back that Karl truly realized just how rapidly his career had progressed. “I thought to myself: Wow, that all happened really fast,” explained the Bayern youngster.
Yet making the leap to the Champions League had been a long-cherished wish for him. “The Champions League had always been a dream of mine, and then things just took off quickly—the first goals, the first assists, and simply the first strong performances.”
The fact that Karl ended up at FC Bayern at all was by no means a given. At just 14 years old, despite his parents’ initial reservations, he decided to move to Munich and enrolled in the boarding school on the Bayern campus.
His determination has since paid off.
Under Kompany, Karl was given the opportunity early on to prove himself with the pros. With his performances, he made it clear that, despite his young age, he can already compete at the highest level.
For the 18-year-old, the focus now is on continuing his development and establishing himself long-term with the German record champions.