Bayern II Faces Crisis After Defeats in Regionalliga
The numbers are brutal. Two competitive games, two defeats, 0 points, 0 goals scored, 4 conceded. Stretch the sample back to pre-season and it looks even worse: six games, six losses, a goal difference of 2-16.
Dante’s coaching career at FC Bayern II has begun with a historic false start.
On Friday evening in Burghausen, the reserve side of the German record champions fell 2-0 to Wacker Burghausen, a team that finished eighth in the Regionalliga Bayern last season. A week after the shock 1-0 home defeat to promoted SC Eltersdorf, Bayern II again walked off empty-handed – and this time with no real complaints.
Historic Low for Bayern’s Reserves
Since the Regionalliga Bayern was introduced in 2012/13, Bayern’s second team had never lost their first two games of a campaign. In the years they weren’t in the division, they were playing a tier higher in the 3. Liga. This league has been their baseline, their minimum standard.
Now they sit bottom of the table after two matchdays. Yes, it is early. Yes, a single win can catapult a young side up the standings. But the pattern is hard to ignore when the friendlies are added into the picture. The slump is not a blip; it has become a trend.
For a club that ideally wants its second team in the 3. Liga to harden its prospects against professional opposition, even flirting with relegation to the Oberliga would be a serious problem. The Regionalliga is supposed to be the floor, not the trapdoor.
Overrun in the First Half
In Burghausen, Bayern II never really got going before the interval. Wacker sensed uncertainty and went straight for it.
The hosts pressed high, forced errors, and carved out chances. The breakthrough came in the 22nd minute, when Felix Bachschmid put Burghausen in front – a lead that had been coming. Bayern’s back line, led by a group with an average age of just 20, struggled to cope with the tempo and physicality.
The pressure didn’t ease. In the 38th minute, Bachschmid struck again, doubling the lead and effectively killing the contest before half-time. Burghausen were sharper, more aggressive, more ruthless. Bayern II could have been further behind.
The scoreline at the break, 2-0, felt like a fair reflection of the gulf in maturity and cohesion.
A Response, But No Reward
After the restart, Dante changed a few details. The effect was visible. Bayern II tightened up at the back, found more structure in midfield, and finally began to stitch together some attacking moves.
The experienced pillars in this very young side, Benno Schmitz (31, formerly 1. FC Köln and RB Leipzig) and Anton Heinz (28, ex-Alemannia Aachen among others), tried to drag the team forward. The defensive line looked less exposed, the passing cleaner, the pressing more coordinated.
Chances came, but not the goal that might have ignited a late surge.
“After the break we adjusted a few things and then it was significantly better. Unfortunately, we didn't reward ourselves with a goal,” Dante said after the final whistle. His conclusion, despite the gloom, stayed consistent with the message he brought into the job: “Even so, we have to keep our heads up – it's important to me that we learn from this match.”
The second half offered small signs of life. It did not change the result, or the table.
From Treble Hero to Rookie Coach Under Pressure
Dante returned to Säbener Straße with a glow around him. The Brazilian, a key part of Bayern’s 2013 treble-winning side and a fan favourite between 2012 and 2015, came back to Munich straight after ending his playing career at OGC Nice. Bayern handed him their second team as a first step on the coaching ladder.
He spoke of joy, intensity, and development. He wanted his young players to “play with joy,” to attack games with energy and leave the pitch happy – with the clear caveat that such freedom only comes from “a lot of hard work and discipline.”
The idea was romantic. The reality, so far, is ruthless.
Six games, six defeats. A goal difference that would alarm any academy director. A start that, by the club’s own standards for its reserve setup, is nothing short of a nightmare.
No one at Bayern will publicly panic after two league fixtures. Internally, though, the mood will be more sober. Those responsible for the pathway between youth football and the first team know what is at stake. A slide into the Oberliga would weaken that bridge at the very moment European giants are fighting harder than ever for elite youth development.
Schweinfurt Next – and an Early Test of Nerves
The schedule offers no gentle reset. Next up is 1. FC Schweinfurt, freshly relegated from the 3. Liga, on Saturday. Another opponent with experience, with physical presence, with expectations of their own.
For Dante, it is not yet a must-win game in the classical sense. The season is too long, the table too tight. But it already feels like a test of direction.
Can Bayern II turn the euphoria of their coach’s return into something tangible on the pitch? Or will the story of Dante’s first season in the dugout be defined by a start that never quite stopped spiralling?
