SPECIAL FEATURE
Robben were both there. All these guys
who have won the World Cup and been
in the FIFA Best XI. They’ve won eight
titles in a row, and you see those titles
every day. It’s a really traditional club –
that was my first impression of Bayern.”
Richards impressed sufficiently
while on loan with Bayern to secure a
five-year contract. In 2019-20, after a
promotion to the second team, he was
a key player in Bayern II’s third-division
title triumph, making 30 league
appearances and even adding a goal
threat to his game, scoring four times.
A rich reward for his fine form came in
the shape of a first, intoxicating taste
of Bundesliga action at the tail end
of the campaign. Two years into his
European journey, the young American
defender can see why so many of
his compatriots have flocked to
German football.probably be there watching you.” It
waskindofscarybutIwasalsoreally
motivated for that game. When I joined
Dallas, they hadn’t yet signed [the
partnership with Bayern]. Once they
signed it, I think we were all aware
of it. We thought maybe that it was
something that wasn’t tangible.”
Although the prospect of becoming
the latest American hopeful aiming to
follow Christian Pulisic’s route through
Germany to international stardom
was enticing, such a cross-continental
move would be intimidating for most
18-year-olds. But Richards’ transition
to Europe was eased by the fact he’d
already left his family home, moving
some 600 miles west to pursue his
football dream in Texas when he
was just16.
“I think it for sure helped my decision,”
he says. “It made it a lot easier because
I grew up a lot in those two years after
leaving home. It was just a matter of
becoming my own person in Germany.
“I would say it probably took a year to
fully get into the culture and know the
language good enough to speak out in
the town and stuff like that. My family
have come to visit me a few times and
I’ve had some friends come to visit me.
They try to keep me occupied.”
And any lingering reservations he had
about making the transatlantic leap
were allayed when he sought the
counsel of fellow young American
players already playing in Germany.
“I talked to [then Schalke midfielder]
Weston McKennie, because we have the
same agent, and I also spoke a little bit
to Taylor Booth, who’s also at Bayern
with me, and ZyenJones, who used tobe at Schalke,” Richards explains. “They
said if there’s a league to start off your
career in, the Bundesliga is the place to
do it. I’d seen the success of Christian
[Pulisic] and Weston. They all assuredme that the Bundesliga was the best
place, not just for an American, but for
any player trying to make his name in
the world.”
For a teenager yet to taste first-team
football, Richards’ introduction at
Bayern was something of a baptism
of fire. With the German champions
participating in the 2018 International
Champions Cup–apre-season
tournament staged predominantly in
the US – he made his non-competitive
debut on home soil, featuring in games
against Paris Saint-Germain,Juventus
and Manchester City.
Aside from those first few friendlies,
though, Richards didn’t see first-team
action in his loan year in Bavaria,
instead starring for the club’s U19s.
But, earmarked from the outset as
a youngster of high potential, he was
exposed to training sessions with the
senior side, at which point he was struck
by the grandeur of the 30-time
champions of Germany.
“Just tradition – you see it everywhere
around the club,” he says. “There are
coaches who were some of the best
players at the club. It’s really eye-
opening, training with players like
[Robert] Lewandowski and [David]
Alaba; [Franck] Ribery and [Arjen]Debut...Richards
played his first
Bundesliga match
v Freiburg in June“I’d seen the success of Christian
[Pulisic] and Weston [McKennie].
They all assured me that the
Bundesliga was the best place, not
just for an American, but for any
player trying to make his name”ICC...Richards clashes
with Manchester City
winger Riyad Mahrez