FC Bayern’s handling of promising young player Lennart Karl continues to spark debate. After Uli Hoeneß and Max Eberl recently made critical remarks about the 18-year-old, Michael Ballack has now weighed in as well. The former Bayern captain has strong words for the record champions’ management and, above all, questions the timing of their public criticism.
Karl had recently drawn attention to himself on the field again following his serious injury. The attacking player started in both the match against SC Freiburg and the DFB Cup game against 1. FC Magdeburg. His development is thus heading in the right direction once more.
This makes it all the more baffling to Ballack that Bayern’s executives are speaking publicly about the youngster’s weaknesses and performance right now. In an interview with DAZN, the former national team captain singled out sporting director Max Eberl for criticism.
Ballack criticizes Eberl: “Incomprehensible given the timing”
“The fact that Max Eberl, now that Lennart’s performance is clearly on the rise again, is accusing him of a slump—complete with missteps—is incomprehensible given the timing and, at the very least, calls his remarks into question,” Ballack told DAZN.
The 50-year-old is referring to recent statements by Bayern’s sporting director, who had taken a critical look at the young forward’s development.
For Ballack, the main issue is that Karl has only just begun to regain his footing on the field after a lengthy injury layoff.
The 18-year-old had emerged as one of FC Bayern’s biggest discoveries last season. However, a serious injury slowed his rise and, among other things, cost him a spot on the World Cup roster.
Now Karl is working to return to his previous level of performance. From Ballack’s perspective, this athletic development should be given greater priority.
Hoeneß is also facing sharp criticism
In addition to Eberl, Ballack also takes aim at Bayern’s honorary president, Uli Hoeneß.
Hoeneß had recently called on Karl publicly to show more restraint and down-to-earthness. In principle, Ballack can certainly understand this criticism. However, he takes a critical view of the manner in which it was communicated publicly. “But you can’t mix that with his athletic development. And that’s exactly what FC Bayern is doing,” emphasized the former midfielder.
Ballack then became even more explicit: “It’s legitimate for Uli Hoeneß to criticize this public image. But it’s also clear that he’s publicly making Lennart a target.”
In doing so, the former Bayern captain accuses club officials of putting additional pressure on the young talent through their public statements.
Ballack makes a clear distinction between justified criticism of a young player’s conduct and an assessment of his athletic performance.
For FC Bayern, the discussion is certainly a sensitive one. Karl is considered one of the greatest talents on the Munich roster and is expected to play an important role for the record champions in the long term.
Following his injury-related hiatus, the 18-year-old’s immediate priority is to regain regular playing time and return to his previous level of performance.
Ballack’s comments, however, show that not everyone considers the way Bayern officials have publicly handled their young player to be appropriate.