By Joshua Huff, sports editor
HOOVER — Birmingham native Chris Richards made his Bayern Munich first-team debut on Saturday in a 3-1 victory over Freiburn in the Bundesliga, which is the top league in the German football system.
Richards, a 20-year-old Hoover native, came on during the 84th minute in place of Javi Martinez. He played in six minutes plus added time.
“I was very excited when I heard my name to come over to the bench,” Richards told CBS Sports. “Once I got the instructions from the coach then the nerves started to kick it, but after my first action I felt right at home.”
You absolutely LOVE to see it. 🇺🇸 @eastmamba pic.twitter.com/unxQVR7NeA
— 🇺🇸 FC Bayern US 🇨🇦 (@FCBayernUS) June 20, 2020
Richards is an FC Dallas youth product. He was loaned to Bayern for the 2018-19 season and signed with Bayern in January 2019. His deal runs through the 2022-23 season. He made his professional competitive debut last August with third-tier Bayern Munich II.
Richards started five matches for the U.S. at last year’s Under-20 World Cup. He became the first American to play for Bayern Munich since midfielder Landon Donovan in 2009.
“It gives me a huge confidence boost,” Richards said. “It shows me that, yes, I did do well, but I want to stay up at this level and that I still have a lot of room left to keep on developing. But this first step meant the world to me and I’m ready to keep grinding.”
Richards played for the Hoover Soccer Club from the U8 team through U15 team before playing as a freshman at Hoover High School. He then moved to Houston when he was 16 to play for the Texans Soccer Club academy.
Bayern had clinched its eighth straight league title this past Tuesday.
