Arturo Vidal, Douglas Costa, Kingsley Coman – FC Bayern acquired quite the selection of talent in the summer with these three exceptional footballers. Players that shine on the big stage. Transfer and loan fess combined, the record champions dished out 74 million euros for the trio, with 8.5 million going to VfB Stuttgart for a youngster who was rather unknown to most Bayern fans, having spent the previous season at RB Leipzig in the 2. Bundesliga: Joshua Kimmich.
The 21-year-old arrived at Säbener Strasse in the summer as a talent with uncertain prospects, but nine months later he is the arguably one of FC Bayern’s best players this season. This evening (20:30 CEST), he is hoping to book a spot in his first DFB Cup final when his side face Werder Bremen. DFB.de takes a look at the U21 international.
Kimmich has been called upon by head coach Pep Guardiola, because he consistently delivers at the highest level. More so because of how maturely he has dealt with all the hype surrounding him. Not without a healthy dose of self-confidence, however: "I didn’t come here to sit on the bench all season, but I have played more than I had expected,” said Kimmich, before rather casually answering the question on where his confidence came from: “It’s quite simple – if you play without confidence at Bayern, you have no chance.”
Traversing the road to Berlin as a centre back
The 21-year-old is just one game away from his first ever DFB Cup final and may well be Guardiola’s first choice centre back for the semi-final against Werder Bremen. The Spaniard raised eyebrows when he employed the youngster in this position early on after the winter break. It was a decision forced by desperation, with Jérôme Boateng, Medhi Benatia and Javi Martínez all picking up injuries in January, before the seemingly cursed Höger Badstuber was once again ruled out for the long term in February with yet another injury. So, holding midfielder Joshua Kimmich was brought in at centre back.
He is "almost my son," told Guardiola, with exuberance and completely enthused by the player who was recommended to him by technical director Michael Reschke, who showed a series of video clips. “I can only compliment Bayern München and Michael Reschke for this transfer,” praised the Spaniard following the 0-0 draw with Borussia Dortmund in March, when Kimmich passed his baptism of fire with flying colours in front of 80,000 fans in Dortmund.
Guardiola a big fan of Kimmich: "Joshua has absolutely everything"
The Rottweiler born midfielder deserves great praise, not just because of his calmness on the ball, his superb passing and he excellent decision making, but also because he withstood the hounding he received from his manager. Straight after shaking hands with BVB manager Thomas Tuchel, Guardiola rushed to the half-way line to give Kimmich a real talking to. Filled with gestures, and with a good shake, the Bayern coach gave the 21-year-old a real telling off, before consoling him a hug. “The manager always wants to get the maximum from you and is never satisfied,” told Kimmich afterwards.
The reason for such a passionate telling off? Guardiola is a big fan of Kimmich and only the players who he holds in such regard receive such special attention. “I love this kid. Joshua has heart, he has passion, he has absolutely everything,” praised Guardiola. “With Joshua our defence is solid and we have very good build-up play.” Bayern’s sporting director Matthias Sammer was also filled with praise for Kimmich: “It’s incredible how well he plays in such a key position at the heart of the defence. Joshua is young, quite slim and he doesn’t yet have much experience – and to deliver such performances just shows his quality and character. He is strong-willed, but modest too. A crazy mixture.” And he’s under contract until at least 2020.
Kimmich in the U21s at just 19
The U21s head coach Horst Hrubesch has been aware of his talents for some time now. Hrubesch called up Kimmich up to the Germany U21s when he was just 19. Kimmich is a real “winner”, a “very intelligent footballer with good technique and good pace,” told the U21s boss. Kimmich also won the European Championship with the U19s in 2014.
Arturo Vidal, Douglas Costa, Kingsley Coman – FC Bayern acquired quite the selection of talent in the summer with these three exceptional footballers. Players that shine on the big stage. Transfer and loan fess combined, the record champions dished out 74 million euros for the trio, with 8.5 million going to VfB Stuttgart for a youngster who was rather unknown to most Bayern fans, having spent the previous season at RB Leipzig in the 2. Bundesliga: Joshua Kimmich.
The 21-year-old arrived at Säbener Strasse in the summer as a talent with uncertain prospects, but nine months later he is the arguably one of FC Bayern’s best players this season. This evening (20:30 CEST), he is hoping to book a spot in his first DFB Cup final when his side face Werder Bremen. DFB.de takes a look at the U21 international.
Kimmich has been called upon by head coach Pep Guardiola, because he consistently delivers at the highest level. More so because of how maturely he has dealt with all the hype surrounding him. Not without a healthy dose of self-confidence, however: "I didn’t come here to sit on the bench all season, but I have played more than I had expected,” said Kimmich, before rather casually answering the question on where his confidence came from: “It’s quite simple – if you play without confidence at Bayern, you have no chance.”
Traversing the road to Berlin as a centre back
The 21-year-old is just one game away from his first ever DFB Cup final and may well be Guardiola’s first choice centre back for the semi-final against Werder Bremen. The Spaniard raised eyebrows when he employed the youngster in this position early on after the winter break. It was a decision forced by desperation, with Jérôme Boateng, Medhi Benatia and Javi Martínez all picking up injuries in January, before the seemingly cursed Höger Badstuber was once again ruled out for the long term in February with yet another injury. So, holding midfielder Joshua Kimmich was brought in at centre back.
He is "almost my son," told Guardiola, with exuberance and completely enthused by the player who was recommended to him by technical director Michael Reschke, who showed a series of video clips. “I can only compliment Bayern München and Michael Reschke for this transfer,” praised the Spaniard following the 0-0 draw with Borussia Dortmund in March, when Kimmich passed his baptism of fire with flying colours in front of 80,000 fans in Dortmund.
Guardiola a big fan of Kimmich: "Joshua has absolutely everything"
The Rottweiler born midfielder deserves great praise, not just because of his calmness on the ball, his superb passing and he excellent decision making, but also because he withstood the hounding he received from his manager. Straight after shaking hands with BVB manager Thomas Tuchel, Guardiola rushed to the half-way line to give Kimmich a real talking to. Filled with gestures, and with a good shake, the Bayern coach gave the 21-year-old a real telling off, before consoling him a hug. “The manager always wants to get the maximum from you and is never satisfied,” told Kimmich afterwards.
The reason for such a passionate telling off? Guardiola is a big fan of Kimmich and only the players who he holds in such regard receive such special attention. “I love this kid. Joshua has heart, he has passion, he has absolutely everything,” praised Guardiola. “With Joshua our defence is solid and we have very good build-up play.” Bayern’s sporting director Matthias Sammer was also filled with praise for Kimmich: “It’s incredible how well he plays in such a key position at the heart of the defence. Joshua is young, quite slim and he doesn’t yet have much experience – and to deliver such performances just shows his quality and character. He is strong-willed, but modest too. A crazy mixture.” And he’s under contract until at least 2020.
Kimmich in the U21s at just 19
The U21s head coach Horst Hrubesch has been aware of his talents for some time now. Hrubesch called up Kimmich up to the Germany U21s when he was just 19. Kimmich is a real “winner”, a “very intelligent footballer with good technique and good pace,” told the U21s boss. Kimmich also won the European Championship with the U19s in 2014.
After the climax to a potentially treble winning season with FC Bayern, Kimmich can look forward to a major tournament in the summer. But which? The Olympics in Rio in August, or at the Euros in France in June and July? “Until now I have only been thinking about the Olympics,” told Kimmich recently. “We’ll see, it’s still a while away. I hope that I will continue to be picked for Bayern. I will continue working hard.” But France would definitely be worth it, right? "Of course," answered Kimmich firmly.
