​ROTTACH-EGERN, GERMANY – JULY 28: Christoph Freund, Sporting Director of FC Bayern München during the summer training camp at Stadion am Birkenmoos on July 28, 2026 in Rottach-Egern, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images) | Getty Images Since Christoph Freund joined Bayern Munich in 2023, he has been directly responsible for over half a dozen hirings at the FC Bayern campus in an effort to overhaul the previously inefficient academy. Some of those changes have worked very well, some have worked fairly well and some have not worked very well at all. But Bayern’s academy still seems to be in a better place than it was a few years ago and continues to churn out players for the first team, as the current squad now has 4 players that graduated from the academy.And Freund wants to continue the success. “We want to develop as many players as possible so they can reach their full potential,” Freund explained in a recent press conference (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “We’ve had many success stories; lots of lads have gone on to enjoy great careers, outside FC Bayern too. The greatest feeling, of course, is when a player comes through our ranks. We want to raise the standard at the campus as high as possible.”How high can that be? Can Bayern fans expect to see the same success rate of 4 academy graduates making the first team squad in six years in the future? It seems a lot to ask, but the Bavarians are clearly ready to place their trust in their academy again after many years of hesitation. We’ll see how well it will continue to work.Join the conversation!Sign up for a user account and get:New, improved notifications system!Fewer adsCreate community postsComment on articles, community postsRec comments, community posts