When Bayern Munich signed Armindo Sieb on a free transfer in 2020, it looked like the Bavarian giants had pulled off a massive coup. The 17-year-old was coming off a strong year with Hoffenheim’s u17s, scoring ten goals and assisting five in fifteen matches. He had scored six more for Germany’s u17s, recording hattricks against Israel and South Korea. Sieb was, simply put, a massive talent.
He also had fans in Munich. Campus Director Jochen Sauer described Sieb as a “great German offensive talent,” while many at the club reportedly liked his versatility, as he could play both centrally and as a winger. Bayern manager Hansi Flick, too, was a fan of Sieb, giving him his Bayern debut in the DFB Pokal against FC Düren while he was just 17. Unfortunately, he suffered a ligament injury during that match, which would keep him out for months. That would be his first and only appearance for Bayern Munich in a competitive match.
For the next two seasons following his injury, Sieb bounced between Bayern’s u19s and their reserves, Bayern II. In 2021, it looked like he would break into the first team à la Jamal Musiala. Julian Nagelsmann was reportedly impressed with Sieb and started him in his first match as Bayern coach, a friendly against FC Köln. Bayern lost, but Sieb scored the opener and was generally impressive.
Sieb instead spent the season with Bayern II, putting in some strong performances and ending the season with ten goals and four assists. While Nagelsmann gave plenty of young players minutes in his debut season — six players 23 or younger made their Bundesliga debuts that year — Sieb remained unused by the first team. Looking back, it’s easy to say he should have left on loan in January, with the likes of Hannover being interested, but he wanted to fight for a spot on the team.
In July 2022, Sieb left Bayern, but not Bavaria, joining recently relegated side Greuther Fürth on a three-year contract. While there is no official partnership between the two clubs, Fürth and Bayern have a good relationship, with Fürth regularly bringing in former Bayern campus players like Julian Green, Timothy Tillman, and Adrian Fein. Bayern has poached some players from Fürth’s youth teams over the years, too, including USMNT star Malik Tillman.
While Bayern might have been disappointed with their return on Sieb — no transfer fee was reported, but, with just one year left on his contract, the consensus was that Fürth didn’t pay much — but they weren’t giving up on him just yet. Bayern secured a buy-back clause for the young German, who would now play in the 2. Bundesliga.
Sieb’s first season with Greuther Fürth wasn’t pretty, largely because of how poor the club was. They were dragged into a relegation battle early on and, while they ended up avoiding relegation quite comfortably, they spent just one week in the top half of the table. Sieb had one stretch of strong form, scoring in three consecutive matches from late October to mid-November, but his season was largely uneventful. He ended the season with four goals and one assist in 23 starts.
It took just one match for Sieb to show that this season would be different. Just 35 minutes in, he danced past a defender and played a perfect through ball to striker Branimir Hrgota, who rounded the goalkeeper and slotted home. Thirty minutes later, with Fürth up 3-0, Sieb latched onto a ball inside the box and calmly slotted it into the bottom left corner. His first match of the season and he already had 40% as many goal contributions as the prior season.
And he didn’t stop, either. Sieb has been directly responsible for roughly 31% of Greuther Fürth’s 2. Bundesliga goals, scoring twelve times this season and recording three assists. No one in the club has more goals than him, as his twelve goals are the tenth-most in the league.
Sieb has been labeled a “mini-Gnabry” in the past — and the similarities are there. Both are the same height (per bundesliga.com, Gnabry is 5’8″ and Sieb is 5’7″), can feature centrally and on the wing, and use both feet well. Like Gnabry, Sieb is a good dribbler with explosive pace and he’s capable of unleashing powerful and accurate shots.
While Sieb is not yet at Gnabry’s level, he’s definitely back on the right track. Many players have thrived after making the jump from the 2. Bundesliga to the Bundesliga — like former Fürth star Jamie Leweling, now at VfB Stuttgart — and it’s expected that Sieb will do the same in the summer. Who knows — maybe in a few years, Sieb will succeed Gnabry and return to Bayern.
–
Image Via www.sgf1903.de.
