A viral video turned him into a cult figure, and Pep Guardiola joked that he wanted to clone Bayern Munich’s new coaching prospect a thousand times

With FC Bayern, Dante won the treble and became a cult hero; in Nice, he eventually earned the nickname “The Father”. Now the 42-year-old Brazilian is returning to Munich as a coach.

At 40, Manuel Neuer remains FC Bayern’s first-choice goalkeeper and is expected to sign a contract extension shortly. That deal would make him the fifth-oldest player in Europe’s top five leagues. Yet the top spot in the rankings belongs to a former teammate of the Munich shot-stopper: 42-year-old Dante. The Brazilian won the treble with Bayern in 2013, has captained French top-flight side OGC Nice for many years, and is still turning out regularly for the club.

In the summer, however, the Brazilian centre-back—citing recurring health problems—stepped down as club captain and unexpectedly returned to FC Bayern as a coach. Dante has taken charge of the reserve team in the fourth-tier Regionalliga Bayern. Drawing on his extensive playing experience and infectious enthusiasm, he is poised to strengthen the club’s already thriving youth-development programme.