10 players you probably forgot played for Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich are widely considered as one of the biggest clubs in the history of European football.

Apart from being a huge club from an operational aspect, what makes Bayern huge are the numerous talents to have played for them.

From Schweinsteiger to Gerd Muller as well as the current ones like Lewandowski, Neuer, Thomas Muller and co.

However, success is not automatic and it’s not always enough for a player just to wear the Bayern shirt. In fact, some have to find another route to glory, that is, away from Munich. And this has happened in the past as well.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at ten players who you may have forgotten ever played for Bayern Munich.

10 Forgotten Bayern Munich players

1. Massimo Oddo

Italian World Cup winner Massimo Odds spent the 2008-09 season on loan at Bayern Munich. His move to Bavaria is considered as one of the most bizarre in the club’s history.

Bayern had a fullback emergency before they signed Oddo with just Philip Lahm and Christian Lell in their squad. Also, Marcell Jansen had left the club for Hamburg and that was why Oddo was brought in.

However, the Italian had little to no impact at Bayern Munich. Many didn’t rate the left-back very highly and didn’t seem to match his level of quality to the Bayern level.

2. Landon Donovan

Having picked just 7 appearances for Bayern, it often goes under the radar that USMNT and La Galaxy legend Landon Donovan played for the German club.

The retired legend forward had played in Germany on loan at Bayern before he went to Everton where he left a much bigger mark.

On a competitive level, Donovan failed to find the net while at Bayern Munich. Following his experience in the Bavarian city, he went on to win a further three MLS Titles with LA Galaxy.

3. Alou Diarra

Throughout his career, Alou Diarra has changed sides quite frequently, mostly within his home country France. Spells at Liverpool, Lyon, Charlton Athletic were only a few of the clubs where Diarra played at.

Another one was Bayern Munich and given that the Frenchman never even made an appearance for the club, one can easily forget about his experience in Germany. In fact, Diarra spent his time at Bayern sitting on the bench a few times and playing all of his football in the reserves.

Maybe his best footballing years came when he was at Bordeaux in France with 133 appearances and 11 goals there.

4. Emre Can

Emre Can initiated his football career through the Bayern youth system. However, he had to move to Bayer Leverkusen for a career breakthrough. And with just 4 appearances for the Bavarian club, that is probably why you forgot about his experience there.

Ever since his move to Leverkusen, Can earned himself a place in the German national team as well as transfers to big clubs. These include Liverpool, Juventus and currently Borussia Dortmund.

5. Serdar Tasci

Although he had insisted on staying in Russia with Spartak Moscow, Serdar Tasci moved to Bayern on loan in January 2016. He was supposed to help the German club ease a defensive injury crisis.

The former Germany international however never eased any of these problems, having collected just 4 appearances for the club.

Tasci now turns out for Turkish Super Lig table-toppers İstanbul Başakşehir, who he joined on a free transfer in January 2019.

6. Paolo Guerrero

A first for his country Peru to make it on a Ballon d’Or nominee list, Paolo Guerrero never actually achieved success while wearing a Bayern shirt. Having joined the club at the age of 18, Guerrero scored 13 goals in 44 games for the first team and many more for Bayern II.

Having said that, however, he was still seen as an unfulfilled talent from the fans given his huge potential. Conversely, Guerrero found regular football at Hamburg where he spent his next six years before heading to South America.

Maybe what he’s known for the most is his experience with the national team Peru. He scored 38 goals in 102 making him the Peru National team all-time top goalscorer.

7. Jose Sosa

Jose Sosa started showcasing his talent to the footballing world when he won the Argentine title with Estudiantes at the age of 21. And it was a year after that he attracted interest from Bayern Munich.

Having picked up just 53 appearances over four years, Sosa surely didn’t get as much playtime as he would have wished. His most successful spell was in his homeland with Estudiantes and that is why you may have forgotten he played for Bayern.

8. Pepe Reina

Given his 500+ appearances for Barcelona, Villareal and Liverpool combined, what would you expect more for the role of a back-up goalkeeper?

That’s what helped Bayern make a decision and get the Spanish goalkeeper as their second keeper. Guardiola’s intention was to have Reina take Neuer’s place when the German needed a rest. However, it wasn’t until 7 months following his transfer that he got his first appearance for the club.

With only 4 appearances during his stay in Bavaria, it’s safe to say that Reina’s best years of his career were elsewhere.

9. Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg

After a good period with Bayern’s reserve team, Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg still didn’t make it to first-team football. In fact, he had to move out on loan to Schalke and Augsburg to kick-start his career among the big guns.

Having said that, things haven’t been that bad for the Danish international. Höjbjerg is now a key member of Premier League side Southampton. With the improvement he’s made over the years, it seems like he could be on the way back to the top.

10. Xherdan Shaqiri

His start to his career with FC Basel paved the way for a move to Bayern back in 2012. However, his experience in Germany didn’t really go as expected both by Shaqiri himself as well as by the club and fans.

He’s never fully made it to the German club’s starting line-up and wasn’t a regular starter. He then moved to Stoke City, Inter Milan and at the moment Liverpool. Even though as a reserve, maybe his best spell was with the Reds, having won both the Champions League as well as the Premier League.

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