Angelo Stiller – FC Bayern II’s deep-lying playmaking prospect
They are few better places to learn the nuances of being a deep-lying playmaker than in the vaunted halls of Bayern Munich’s academy. Pint-sized 19-year-old, Angelo Stiller learned the tools of the trade from Xabi Alonso and Toni Kroos donning the famous red of Bayern Munich and playing at the Allianz Arena. There are hallmarks of both players in his game with his directional first touch as well as his penchant for creating opportunites with his progressive passing. He will have the opportunity to improve on his game with the likes of fellow academy product, Adrian Fein ahead of him in the pecking order while he may have the opportunity to make his debut next season with Thiago and Javi Martinez leaving.
"I'm a Bavarian through and through. Bayern Munich is my home, but of course I have to see where you have the best sporting prospects. The way Xabi Alonso plays is fantastic. I would like to play like that. Or like Toni Kroos, who only plays with one or two contacts. That's my style of play, how I see football and the game,” said Stiller to Kicker last month.
The speed at which Stiller receives possession, swivels to shield the ball and set his feet before distributing possession have made him a pillar of Sebastian Hoeness’ title winning Bayern II side. His feet are quick while he has a wide passing range, frequently switching possession to change the point of attacks while also being able to work line-breaking passes. Stiller is able to pass with both feet from any angle as he is unafraid of turning when he receives possession to work connections to drive his side forward. He has a low centre of gravity to twist and turn out of situations, change direction in an instant to befuddle opponents while shielding the ball or earning fouls in tight areas of the pitch.
In possession, Stiller has all the essential tools to become a high-level deep-lying playmaker as his directional first touch and sense of pressure is impeccable. He resembles Thiago Alcantara in a sense as in a match against MSV Duisberg, he received the ball from his left-back to take it under his stride with his left foot to evade one marker before shimmying and dribbling past another marker to drive the ball forward to play a pass for Jeong woo-yeong to have an opportunity to cut-back on the left flank. He will not adjust to the movements of his teammates to receive possession but also receive the ball with whichever foot allows him to evade pressure and release the ball efficiently as at times, he will let the ball roll across his body to swivel or take the ball under his stride with his first touch to shield possession from a marker.
His distribution is consistently incisive as he is constantly scanning and turning his head before he receives possession as he will work one-twos or wall-passes to buy himself time to drive forward with possession before rolling passes in between the lines. His ability to push forward with the ball glued to his right or left boot allows him to change directions to drive past players while giving him time to find a better passing angle to a central option to instigate attacking moves. His passes are also perfectly weighted to allow teammates to fool their markers with dummies or to allow the ball to roll to a teammate as his ability as a progressive passer made him essential to Bayern II in the last few months of the season.
The 19-year-old midfield maestro adds creativity in the final third as he has the vision and ability to work passes into the box to create goalscoring opportunities for teammates. He accrued 4 assists during the season from a deep-lying midfield role as his ability as a chance creator in the final third is unique, even with modern day deep-lying playmakers. Against MSV Duisberg, he received possession to lob a pass for a teammate to make a run in behind, control the ball with his chest and finish to give Bayern II a two-goal lead. Earlier in the same game, he received possession on the half turn to chip a ball in behind Jeong to go 1v1 with a keeper to chip the ball over the keeper and have his opportunity cleared.
He is also creative when distributing possession from the half-spaces as against 1860 Munich he created another opportunity when he received possession from the right half-space to lob a cross that Oliver Wriedt and Jeong were unable to get on the end of. Againt Duisberg, he was positioned in the left half-space and angled an exceptional pass to his fullback who had a shot on goal in a 1v1. In the final third, Stiller has a gifted and well-trained eye for movement as if a teammate is making a run into the box, the 19-year-old will pick him out with a wonderful lob or an accurately weighted pass lasered through tight lines of opposition pressure.
Away to Chemnitzer, he illustrated his creativity once more when he received the ball in the right half-space to curve the ball past two opposition players and into the stride of a teammate in the box who mis controlled to move wider towards the by-line before cutting the ball back to Stiller who played a one-touch pass to another teammate in the box. The young German can also roll passes into teammates to set his side on a break with line-breaking passes into space as his distribution and creativity are already at a high-level.
However, he will need to improve his tackling if he is to make the step up to the first-team anytime soon as he frequently misses tackles awfully to the detriment of his side. Bayern II have even conceded goals and high-quality chances when he has swung so wildly that he is left in a heap on the pitch with opponents making inroads to the Bayern II goal. If he improves his tackling, he can easily be a high-level deep-lying playmaker in the Bundesliga as his vision sets him apart from many midfielders at the top level. He normally regains possession through interceptions as he can recognize opposition passing sequences to make timely movements in front of opposition players to regain possession or nudge an opponent out of his way to make an interception. His ability with interceptions makes him strong at counter-pressing as he can cover spaces to make challenges on his feet as he has the potential to regain possession but will need more training to build on his tackling in defensive situations.
"He's already very mature. Stiller has a cool head and has adapted very quickly to the higher intensity in the third division," said Sebastian Hoeness to the Bundesliga website earlier this year.
Hansi Flick has shown a willingness to give youth an opportunity in the early stages of his tenure at Bayern Munich as Joshua Zirkzee, Chris Richards and Sarpeet Singh have all been handed their debuts while Fein has been involved in the first-team setup since returning from his loan at Hamburg. Stiller is certainly the next player on the production line as he will need to refine the defensive side of his game with another season with Bayern II or on loan as the Bundesliga champions are set for a midfield reshuffle in the summer. Stiller is intelligent and technically proficient much like Phillip Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, David Alaba, Thomas Muller and many of the Bayern youth products of the past. Stiller’s current contract expires next summer as Arsenal, Union Berlin, Werder Bremen and Stuttgart are already circling as extending him should be a priority for Bayern Munich. He has the potential to be another era defining homegrown player at the base of their midfield for years to come.
