First celebrated, now only reservist. Both parties, player and club, certainly imagined Joao Cancelo’s work at Bayern Munich differently. It’s a complicated situation. But could Munich have expected that?
In Stuttgart again only reservist – this time even for 90 minutes: Joao Cancelo.
IMAGO/MIS
Exactly when the whistle kicked off in the Stuttgart Arena, CEO Oliver Kahn and Sport Director Hasan Salihamidzic came to the stands, amazed, because it was the wrong one. They landed in the middle of the press representatives. They looked for their place in disbelief, not really knowing where to go. A few steps up, then down again before the stadium stewards told them which way to go. After four minutes, the mishap was cleared up. Joao Cancelo has a similar problem, but it has been going on for three weeks now. He is also looking for his place. In the Bayern team, especially in the starting XI.
The last time the star newcomer, praised by the FCB decision-makers when he moved from Manchester City to Munich, was allowed to play from the start in the first leg of the round of 16 at Paris St. Germain (1-0). However, the loan – including a purchase option of 70 million euros – had to go out at halftime on February 14th, the most important game of the season up to that point. Since then he has been a reservist. In Mönchengladbach (2:3) he came on the field for tactical reasons in the 16th minute and took over from Thomas Müller, who was controversially substituted. The Portuguese received only twelve minutes against Union Berlin (3-0), this time, in the 2-1 win in Stuttgart, he sat on the bench for 90 minutes.
Nagelsmann: “Joao almost never played a back three at Manchester City”
Kicker asked coach Julian Nagelsmann: Why is that and what is Cancelo missing at the moment? “Joao has almost never played a back three – with the ball – at Manchester City,” explains the head coach: “Accordingly, he has never played a half-back. And we’re not currently playing a back four.”
Means: It is, among other things, a system issue – Cancelo needs the back four. A fact that the Munich decision-makers certainly knew before the commitment, right? After all, the system was changed for the first time in the cup game in Mainz – it was Cancelo’s first game in a Bayern jersey. This didn’t seem to be a problem in the 4-0 win, on the contrary, it was said that FCB could now be more flexible thanks to Cancelo.
Within four weeks, the view has apparently rotated 180 degrees
“He gives us very good creativity and also variability because he can play both in a back four and in a back three,” Nagelsmann said a month ago: “At City he often played on the left and can cross with both feet and is a very good player in close quarters. On top of that, he also understands that he has to help defend the second post.” Cancelo is therefore “not just attacking,” said the FCB coach. Four weeks later, that view appears to have rotated 180 degrees.
In addition to this, the 28-year-old also left ManCity because he didn’t get enough playing time. Now the same sporting fate overtakes him in Munich. But “that,” says Nagelsmann, “he’s currently dealing with well. I don’t have the impression that he’s breaking away.” Nevertheless, Cancelo “of course still has a few things to catch up on in terms of processes. Because it’s a different style of play than Pep’s. He needs a little more time. He’ll get it.” Knowing full well that in a defensive back three, the attacking wingers, also called “jokers” by Nagelsmann, are currently called Alphonso Davies on the left and Kingsley Coman on the right.
How does Cancelo himself view the situation? One can only speculate about that. When kicker asked him about it, the Portuguese replied politely that he didn’t want to comment further at the moment. Understandable. Last week he said in an interview with “O Jogo”: “It’s like Pep said: I have to play to be happy.” But first he has to find his place in the team again.
