Victor Orakpo And David Emmanuel Making big steps with FC Bayern Munich.
Striker Victor Orakpo (17) of FC Bako of Lokoja Kogi state, Nigeria and midfielder David Emmanuel (16) of FC Hearts, two grassroots football clubs in Nigeria, have been gradually writing their football stories with Bayern Munich. The German champions have selected them both as part of the FC Bayern World Squad tournament, an initiative to promote global football talent, give players from all over the world a chance to become professional footballers, and contribute to cultural exchange.
Victor and David, alongside 23 other players born in 2005/06 from 18 different nations, started by traveling to Buenos Aires for a 12-day training camp. They played three friendlies in Argentina against Estudiantes, Diego Maradona’s first club, Argentinos Juniors, and River Plate. The team then traveled to Germany for the second part of the training program. They have played two friendlies in Germany, first against KSV Hessen Kassel (on 5 July at the DFB Academy in Frankfurt) and then Hamburger SV (on 9 July at the HSV Academy). They won by 3-1, with Victor Orakpor scoring two goals and making an assist despite coming on in the second half. David played the entire duration of the game. Victor has recorded five goals and two assists in five games so far.
The highlight of the entire tour will be a match against the FC Bayern U19s at the Allianz Arena, scheduled for 15 July.
Victor Orakpo and David Emmanuel would like to follow in the footsteps of Daniel Francis, a former Emmanuel teammate at FC Hearts Abuja. Francis was signed by FC Bayern last season after convincing the German champions in last year’s tour. Bayern immediately sent Francis on loan to Austria to develop his game.
