Berlin (AFP)

Reigning European champion, Bayern Munich begins Wednesday at home against Atletico Madrid (8:45 p.m.) its campaign of reconquest, with a backbone of players 25 years or less who promise him still good years.

In August in Lisbon, the German "Rekordmeister" conquered Europe with a team perfectly balanced between the young wave and the old guard, that of the survivors of the victory in the Champions League 2013.

But Wednesday, behind closed doors at the Allianz Arena, coach Hansi Flick could field no less than seven players under the age of 26.

Some are already among the best in the world in their posts: Joshua Kimmich, a Sergio Ramos warrior-leader, is preparing to reign over the German midfielder for a long time.

Serge Gnabry is the worthy heir to the legends Robben and Ribéry.

Among the "old", Thomas Müller, David Alaba and Jérôme Boateng are still pillars of the team, but subject to rotation.

The only ones who are truly steadfast are Manuel Neuer and Robert Lewandowski, respectively elected best goalkeeper and best UEFA player of the year in October.

The Pole has no designated successor, but Neuer already knows his: the club recruited this summer Alexander Nübel, 24, trained in Schalke as Neuer and vice-champion of Europe U21 last year with Germany.

- Golden decade -

This configuration, of course, owes everything to the good management of the leaders, Uli Hoeness in the recent past, and today Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and his right-hand man Oliver Kahn, who did not wait for the twilight of the old people, Robben, Ribéry, Lahm or Schweinsteiger, to prepare for the next generation.

They have notably attracted in their nets in recent years four young French internationals, including the three world champions Benjamin Pavard (24 years old), Lucas Hernandez (24 years old) and Corentin Tolisso (26 years old) - Kingsley Coman (24 years old) having missed the World Cup on injury - and five German internationals from the same age group: Kimmich, Gnabry, Niklas Süle and Leon Goretzka (all 25 years old), and Leroy Sané (24 years old).

In contact with the legends of the Golden Decade, these new talents have gained confidence and integrated the DNA of Bayern, one of those rare clubs where only victory is acceptable.

The "Rekordmeister" has just won eight consecutive German league titles (current series) and has reached the semi-finals of the Champions League seven times over the last nine editions, for three finals and two titles.

- Learn to "win" -

This season, Flick is already starting to prepare for a more distant future by gently integrating the under-20 generation, of which only one representative has won the first team: the gifted Canadian Alphonso Davies (19) .

"He brings in players from the second and even the third row, and he gives them absolute trust," praised Sky Germany star consultant Dieter Hamann, former Bayern and Liverpool alumnus, on Saturday, "there are a lot of matches to come. come and we have to trust the players, because we will constantly find ourselves in situations where five or six holders will have to stay on the bench, to recover ".

This is how names still almost unknown like Musiala, Richards or Zirkzee are starting to flourish on the back of Bayern shirts in the Bundesliga.

On the French side, we could soon see Tanguy Nianzou (18 years old), the former Paris SG, as we saw last year Michaël Cuisance, currently on loan for a season in Marseille, just to find playing time.

These boys, however, will not start in the Champions League on Wednesday.

At Bayern, you first have to learn "how to win" before having your place among the stars.

© 2020 AFP