The slight winger has managed to make his size work for him.
For many young players, not growing enough is a problem. It means that they struggle the more they move up the ranks and the close they get to professional football, unable to cope physically with fully grown adults. Aleksandar Pavlović, for example, often struggled physically even in youth football before a late growth surge played its’ part in his stock rising so much that he is now a key part of the Bayern Munich first team.
It does not seem that his fellow Bayern academy member Lennart Karl will get the same boon. However, that may still play to his advantage. In an interview with Bayern’s official website, the left footed winger spoke of his strengths as a player and noted his small stature as one of them: “I’m very fast in the first few meters, I enjoy 1v1s, and I have good finishing. At just under 1.70 meters, I’m not the tallest, but my low center of gravity helps me establish myself, especially when dribbling.”
Has his size ever been a problem?
“No, never. I learned early on to use it to my advantage. Of course, that also means I have to work harder on my athleticism —especially in strength training, so I can hold my own better in duels.”
That work can clearly be seen nowadays and it is paying off. Of course, Karl still gets shouldered off the ball plenty of times and can struggle in physical duels. But equally, he drops his shoulder and glides past his opponents even more, using his low center of gravity to keep the ball perfectly under control. What could have been a weakness may turn out to be a strength after all.
