Dante’s Bayern II Faces Historic Crisis After Two Losses
The romance of Dante’s return to Munich has run into cold reality at breakneck speed.
A week after a shock 1-0 home defeat to promoted SC Eltersdorf in their Regionalliga opener, Bayern II were beaten again on Friday night, this time 2-0 away at Wacker Burghausen. Two games, two losses, no goals scored. For a club that prides itself on order and planning, the numbers are jarring.
Stretch the view back to pre-season and the picture darkens further. Dante has now lost all six of his first matches in charge: four friendlies, two competitive fixtures, a combined goal difference of 2-16. For a man who once marshalled Bayern’s back line on Champions League nights, that defensive record cuts particularly deep.
A First Bayern II Could Have Done Without
Since the Regionalliga Bayern was introduced in 2012/13, Bayern’s reserves had never opened a campaign with back-to-back defeats. This is uncharted territory. Across that period, aside from two seasons spent in the 3. Liga, the fourth tier has been their natural habitat and usually a platform for steady development, not a trapdoor.
Now, after two matchdays, they sit bottom with zero points. The table in August rarely tells the full story, but this start is more than just a statistical quirk. It is a historic false start and a sharp jolt for a project that was supposed to be built on optimism and continuity.
Outplayed Early, Too Late to Respond
In Burghausen, against a side that finished eighth last season, Bayern II never found a foothold in the first half. Wacker sensed vulnerability and went after it.
The hosts pressed high, forced mistakes, and carved out chances. Felix Bachschmid finally broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute, a lead that had been coming. Bayern’s young back line looked rattled, their build-up hesitant and easily disrupted.
The pressure did not relent. In the 38th minute, Bachschmid struck again, making it 2-0 and effectively killing the contest before the break. Bayern II trudged off looking exactly what they are: a very young team still trying to understand the pace and physicality of this league.
Dante’s starting XI had an average age of just 20. The experienced Benno Schmitz, 31, formerly of 1. FC Köln and RB Leipzig, and 28-year-old Anton Heinz, with spells including Alemannia Aachen, have been brought in to guide that youth. Only after half-time did that blend start to resemble a functioning unit.
Bayern tightened up at the back, looked more secure in their structure, and finally began to create something going forward. There were half-chances, promising moves, brief flashes of the “joy” Dante had spoken about before the season. But the game never truly reignited. Wacker managed the lead, Bayern lacked the punch to change the script.
“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 afterwards. “Even so, we have to keep our heads up – it's important to me that we learn from this match.”
Euphoria Meets the Hard Edge of Reality
Inside Säbener Straße, nobody will be reaching for the panic button after two league games. But when you fold in the four friendlies, six defeats and 16 goals conceded start to look less like a blip and more like a pattern. Those in charge will already be watching closely.
For Bayern, the status of their reserve side is not a side issue. Relegation to the Oberliga would be a serious setback for a club that sees its second team as a crucial bridge between the academy and the first team. The ideal scenario is clear: Bayern II in the 3. Liga, testing their best prospects weekly at a demanding professional level. The Regionalliga is the bare minimum. Anything below that is simply not part of the plan.
That is the backdrop against which Dante returned to Munich. A cult figure from the treble-winning 2013 side, the Brazilian came back from OGC Nice at the end of his playing career to take his first steps on the touchline at the club that helped define him.
He arrived with energy and big ideas. “I want us to play with joy. Young players in particular should enjoy putting their foot down so that they can also be happy after the match. But that only works with a lot of hard work and discipline,” he said shortly before the season began.
The joy has been hard to spot so far. The hard work and discipline now need to surface quickly.
Schweinfurt Looms as an Early Test of Nerve
For now, Dante is not panicking, at least not publicly. But this nightmare start will be testing even his famously upbeat character. Bayern did not bring him back for nostalgia; they brought him back to shape a new generation and keep the reserve side on the right competitive track.
Next up is 1. FC Schweinfurt, recently relegated from the 3. Liga, on Saturday. On paper, it is another stern examination. In reality, it already feels like something more: a chance to stop the slide, to restore a little belief, to show that these opening weeks are a stumble, not the start of a spiral.
For a young squad and a rookie coach at a giant club, how they respond now will say far more than any early-season table ever could.
