Bayern Munich's Tom Bischof takes unusual route to Germany U21 debut

After making his full senior international debut against France back in June, Bayern Munich's Tom Bischof has made another interesting debut for Germany over the October international break.

Tom Bischof has hardly taken a linear path when it comes to his international duty. The Bayern Munich summer arrival had already been rewarded for a stunning 2024/25 campaign for former club Hoffenheim with his full Germany bow by national team head coach Julian Nagelsmann back in June.

Aged just 19, it was a sign that the German national team  held Bischof in the highest esteem as the potential future of Germany.

Nevertheless, over the October international break, it was U21 coach Antonio Di Salvo who handed Bischof another national team debut, as the Bayern midfielder not only started for, but also captained the UEFA European Championship hopefuls in a 3-2 defeat against Greece.

Bischof made his full international debut back in June in the UEFA Nations League third-place play-off defeat to France. - IMAGO/Markus Ulmer

Whilst being handed the armband may have come as a surprise to some, the Fritz Walter gold medal winner does have prior leadership credentials, having previously captained the U19 side.

Knowing this, Di Salvo also explained his reasoning behind immediately making the debutant his captain. In addition to the usual captains - Finn Jeltsch and Aljoscha Kemlein - both being injured, Di Salvo admitted: “I like having a captain who plays in the center of the pitch and I had already noticed in training that Tom speaks up - he can address things directly when they’re not going well, but he also pushes the team in a positive way. That’s why we chose him.”

Watch: Bischof shone for Hoffenheim prior to joining Bayern

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Despite the defeat too, Di Salvo was full of praise for his captain, adding: "He gave everything, and you could see his qualities - both in winning the ball and in pushing forward. Especially in the second half, he kept driving the team, building pressure, providing stability, and he also set up the 2–2 equaliser with his corner.”

Bischof himself was also delighted with his debut as he echoed his manager's sentiments after the game, saying: “I was really happy about that. Of course, I had hoped it would go a bit better."

Bischof (r.) captained an U21 side which includes a wealth of Bundesliga talent, such as Mainz's Nelson Weiper and Borussia Mönchengladbach's Lukas Ullrich. - IMAGO/Christian Schroedter

Defeat against Greece does leave the U21s in a somewhat precarious third-placed position in Group F for their UEFA European Championships qualification campaign.

Di Salvo will need another lead-by-example from his new captain when the U21s travel to Belfast to face second-placed Northern Ireland on Tuesday evening.

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