From apprentice to master: On the way to legend: Kimmich is reminiscent of two of Bayern’s greatest players
When Joshua Kimmich moved to FC Bayern in 2015, his career could have taken a different course. But he took the risk and developed into one of the best footballers in the world. Today he is on the way to legendary status with the record champions.
Already in 2016 hardly anyone had doubted that Joshua Kimmich would one day play a formative role at Bayern. Anyone who followed his career closely until he moved to Munich could hardly take a different opinion. And yet it is always difficult with great talent. Football skills are only one aspect of the way to the top. How many exceptional talents have already been broken by pressure or wrong career decisions?
At the time, however, Kimmich was one of the few talents who did everything right with the early move to Säbener Straße. In 2015 it comes at the right time, especially because FC Bayern had just started to slowly start the partial replacement of the 2013 triple success axis. In addition to Kimmich, Douglas Costa and Kingsley Coman also come for the offensive flanks. Philipp Lahm, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribéry are already on a lap of honor, the length of which is manageable. Bastian Schweinsteiger has also left the club for Manchester – finally confirmed by none other than Kimmich.
“I think it’s a shame that Schweinsteiger is gone,” said the then only 20-year-old at his introduction, announcing what was hinted at, but has not yet been confirmed by the club. Even then, there was much more to this sentence than a verbal slip. Kimmich wants to learn from the best, break out of his comfort zone in Leipzig and face a task where many talents have already failed.
His versatility catapulted him into the national team
Pep Guardiola gives him this chance. Behind Xabi Alonso, Kimmich gets time and time again, in which he proves how good he is already. His eye, his overview, his clever passing game – Kimmich seems to be the strategist that Alonso can inherit at some point. Many injuries to teammates later, Bayern’s newcomer suddenly found himself in the defense. First right in the back, then in central defense, where he plays a sensational second half of the season alongside Alaba. For Kimmich it is also the leap into the national team.
Often there is an attempt to pigeonhole players and compare them to other great players. At Kimmich, this is difficult from the start because of its versatility. In midfield he is reminiscent of both Alonso and Schweinsteiger, but if he plays on the right back, the name Lahm often comes up. But maybe that’s exactly what makes Kimmich such a special footballer today: He combines the qualities of many great players and thus leaves his own mark early on in his career.
At least under Hansi Flick, the now 25-year-old has developed into a leading player. He goes ahead and pushes his teammates, as Schweinsteiger once did. Body language, many commands and an incredible presence shape his game. At the same time, Kimmich is a very constant player who can be relied on in almost every game. His bad moments are rare. Maybe not as rare as it was at Lahm, but enough to be able to draw a comparison.
Is Kimmich growing on Thiagos departure?
Another big parallel to Schweinsteiger is emerging this season. When Mark van Bommel had to leave FC Bayern in 2011, there seemed to be a big hole in midfield. The Dutch captain was not only a link in terms of sport, but was also decisive for many of his teammates alongside the pitch. For example for Schweinsteiger, who was able to make a huge leap in performance alongside van Bommel.
After his partner was gone, Schweinsteiger had to take on more responsibility. He was now the focal point of his team, which initially seemed to have an impact on his performance. But it wasn’t long before he began to grow on it.
This year Thiago left Bavaria. For a long time the Spaniard was also the linchpin of the Bavarian game, dictating the rhythm and direction. His move to Liverpool will undoubtedly hurt the Munich team. But if there is one positive aspect of this change, then it is the chance for Kimmich to prove its quality even more.
Kimmich is Flick’s quarterback
His performances against Borussia Dortmund in the Supercup and Atlético Madrid in the Champions League are exemplary. Alongside Thiago, Kimmich was increasingly developing into the player who everything at FC Bayern revolves around. Without the Spaniard, he seems to be even more dominant.
In Flick’s system he is basically a kind of quarterback who sends the runners in front of him down with precise passes. Kimmich calls for balls, initiates attacks and dissects the opposing formation with razor-sharp passes. Above all, it seems to be almost unpressible. No matter how great the pressure of the opponent is, the clock rarely makes serious mistakes.
In addition to these footballing qualities, Kimmich is often praised for his mentality. His face clenched in a fist, he is not afraid of any confrontation or duel. At the same time, that is perhaps the only aspect that the 25-year-old can still work on in order to finally move up to the elite group of really great players.
Leader of a generation – next stop: legendary status
Sometimes his ambition threatens to exceed the limit of overzealousness. The result is unnecessary yellow cards or high-spirited dribbling that leads to ball losses. Without a doubt, Kimmich is the hottest candidate to take over the captaincy from Manuel Neuer at some point.
If you look back at 2015, FC Bayern has done a lot right in terms of squad policy. Kimmich is now the leader of a whole generation of players who are already shaping a new era at the record champions: Niklas Süle, Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sané, Kingsley Coman, Benjamin Pavard, Alphonso Davies, Lucas Hernández – they all stand for change that the club has pushed forwards gradually and unnoticed by many over the past five years.
As an observer of this generation, it is particularly nice that these players (except for Sané) and especially Kimmich won the Champions League in August. Because this way you can watch the development of these great footballers without having to have annoying debates at any point about whether they are enough “type” to recognize their quality because of a missing title. They checked that off early in their career. And so Kimmich can continue writing his own story almost undisturbed. Because five years after his move, he has long since assumed the defining role he had predicted at FC Bayern. It’s not too daring to predict that he will become a club legend in the next five years – if nothing crazy happens.
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