In a sentence
Eighteen-year-old Dutch supersub who
sprung out of the Bayern shadows late
last year, scoring with his very first touch
on his Bundesliga debut, against Freiburg,
and repeating the exact same trick a few
days later, against Wolfsburg.
What they say...
Former Schalke and Holland centre-
forward Youri Mulder: “This kid has a
massive career in front of him. He’s a
serious talent. He has the perfect build
for a striker, a nose for goals and, what’s
more, he can really play. In short, he’s a
fantastic footballer”
Jochen Sauer, Bayern Munich’s head
of youth development: “He is the type
of striker you don’t often see today: big,
athletic but technically very accomplished
too. He’s just completed his first short
steps on the road to becoming a
professional. He has to carry on working
hard. If he does that, I wouldn’t put it past
him making at Bayern”
The story so far
Born in the Dutch town of Schiedam,
near Rotterdam, as a schoolboy he
played for local clubs VV Hekelingen
and Spartaan ’20, then spent three years
in the junior ranks at Den Haag prior to
featuring in the youth team at Feyenoord.
Scouted by many top European sides,
including Arsenal and Manchester United,
he came close to signing for Everton,
only to eventually join Bayern Munich
on turning 16.
After impressing for Bayern’s youth
and reserve sides he travelled to the USA
with the senior squad on their 2018
pre-season tour, scoring in his first game,
against Paris Saint-Germain.
A Holland under-19 international,
he was to the fore in last season’s UEFA
Youth League with four goals in six starts
before making his competitive first-team
debut for Bayern in December, coming
off the bench a few minutes from the end
of a 3-1 Champions League win over
Tottenham Hotspur. The following
Joshua ZIRKZEE
week came his heroics to help defeat
Freiburg and Wolfsburg.The next step
Bayern intend to take it nice and gently
with him for the moment, with a mixed
diet of senior-side bench-warming
and competitive action with the club’s
reserves, who play in the German
third tier. While unlikely to use him as a
starter with the first XI, they will have no
hesitation in deploying him as a last-gasp
impact sub. The word is that next season
he will be the official understudy to mainstriker Robert Lewandowski, with an
increased amount of game time.Strengths
His aerial ability, physical presence,
comfort on the ball and a good turn
of pace. He is ravenous in his pursuit
of goals and displays ice-cold finishing.Weaknesses
Can be hot-headed and has been sent
off on more than one occasion with
Bayern’s youngsters. More movement
would not go amiss.(Bayern Munich, Ger, & Hol)
Words Nick Bidwell
“He is the type of striker you don’t
often see today: big, athletic but
technically very accomplished”
Jochen Sauer, Bayern head of youth development3
THINGS YOU
DIDN’T KNOW
ABOUT ZIRKZEEOBack in 2017, while on Feyenoord’s
books, he played for Everton in a youth
tournament in Prague without the Dutch
club’s permission.
OHe was sent off for pushing over one
opponent and slapping another when
Bayern lost 3-2 to Borussia Dortmund
in the 2018 German Under-17 Final.
OHe scored after 104 seconds against
Freiburg and 149 against Wolfsburg.N A T U R A L
G O A L S C O R E R S