BERLIN, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Hermann Gerland is what you could call a Bavarian football institution. The 62-year-old has worked for the Bundesliga champions for over 16 years and is regarded almost as a father figure to the club's youngsters. After all the former defender discovered Bayern greats like Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Mueller and Holger Badstuber.

Therefore, some call it a wise and some an emotional decision to appoint Gerland as the new boss of the club's academy. Bayern is aiming to win back lost ground and has to take radical steps if they are to do so. In summer 2017, the Bavarians will open a new youth academy costing up to 75 million euro. It will be run by Gerland and Jochen Sauer, the specialist of youth football who is currently at the Austrian side of RB Salzburg.

Gerland is not one of the new generation of coaches running around with a laptop talking about player data updates. Gerland is a man who relies on his experience and his personal contact to players. He is in a way the heart and soul Bayern where he has held many different positions such as assistant for both the second and first teams.

Now Gerland is facing perhaps the most difficult job of his career as his mission is to provide the first team squad with a regular supply of youngsters. It is something many of his predecessors failed to do. Defender and midfielder David Alaba was the last to make it to the top in 2011. Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness is not the only one who sees it as embarrassing disaster for such a leading football club.

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