His call up was perhaps the biggest shock of Tuesday night’s home game against Dinamo Zagreb. Joshua Kimmich can be more than happy with this. In the second group game of the Champions League, the U21 Germany international dictated the midfield in the glamorous 5-0 win for Bayern München over the Croatian champions with vision, presence and skill.
This performance was acknowledged by none other than his manager. Pep Guardiola was full of praise for the 20-year-old midfielder: "He was incredible today. He’s got absolutely everything that a footballer needs. He’s very intelligent, very aggressive on and off the ball, good at moving the ball forward, strong in the air, got great vision and finds the space very well. He’s a remarkable player and perfect for the future of Bayern München." And what more? The Spanish boss for one is sure that: "Jogi Löw has a new option. I’m sure Joshua Kimmich will be a senior team international sooner or later." Despite the praise, Joshua Kimmich remains modest, as he proves in this DFB.de interview.
Question: Mr. Kimmich, how did you approach your first Champions League start?
Joshua Kimmich: I felt good, and I was ready for it – I wanted to put in a strong performance.
Question: You looked very composed straight away.
Kimmich: In the first half we had complete control over them, only gave them one half chance. But we took the lead very early and went in to the break 4-0 up. That makes the team composed.
Question: What did the manager set you up to do?
Kimmich: We knew that the strikers would try to keep our defensive midfielders out of the game, so we just had to make sure we outnumbered them with our centre backs. It worked very well.
Question: When did you know you would be starting?
Kimmich: Not long before kick-off.
Question: Did Pep Guardiola have a private chat with you before the game as well?
Kimmich: Yeah, a short chat, but he does that with everyone.
Question: Do you get nervous, when you know you’ll be starting?
Kimmich: You’re just happy to be playing, and want to do so to the best of your ability.
Question: Was the Champions League part of the reason you switched to Bayern?
Kimmich: Of course being able to play these sort of games at Bayern is a contributing factor. At other clubs you might not get the opportunity to play in the Champions League. To be chosen to play from the start is obviously very nice for me.
Question: Are you altogether happy with your playing time?
Kimmich: I think the manager knows what he’s doing. Everything is fine so far. I was allowed to play in the cup, then against Darmstadt, then I started and now he’s played me two or three times since. I hope it continues like this.
Question: You feel the manager trusts you, don’t you?
Kimmich: Yes. I think if he didn’t trust me he wouldn’t play me in these games.
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His call up was perhaps the biggest shock of Tuesday night’s home game against Dinamo Zagreb. Joshua Kimmich can be more than happy with this. In the second group game of the Champions League, the U21 Germany international dictated the midfield in the glamorous 5-0 win for Bayern München over the Croatian champions with vision, presence and skill.
This performance was acknowledged by none other than his manager. Pep Guardiola was full of praise for the 20-year-old midfielder: "He was incredible today. He’s got absolutely everything that a footballer needs. He’s very intelligent, very aggressive on and off the ball, good at moving the ball forward, strong in the air, got great vision and finds the space very well. He’s a remarkable player and perfect for the future of Bayern München." And what more? The Spanish boss for one is sure that: "Jogi Löw has a new option. I’m sure Joshua Kimmich will be a senior team international sooner or later." Despite the praise, Joshua Kimmich remains modest, as he proves in this DFB.de interview.
Question: Mr. Kimmich, how did you approach your first Champions League start?
Joshua Kimmich: I felt good, and I was ready for it – I wanted to put in a strong performance.
Question: You looked very composed straight away.
Kimmich: In the first half we had complete control over them, only gave them one half chance. But we took the lead very early and went in to the break 4-0 up. That makes the team composed.
Question: What did the manager set you up to do?
Kimmich: We knew that the strikers would try to keep our defensive midfielders out of the game, so we just had to make sure we outnumbered them with our centre backs. It worked very well.
Question: When did you know you would be starting?
Kimmich: Not long before kick-off.
Question: Did Pep Guardiola have a private chat with you before the game as well?
Kimmich: Yeah, a short chat, but he does that with everyone.
Question: Do you get nervous, when you know you’ll be starting?
Kimmich: You’re just happy to be playing, and want to do so to the best of your ability.
Question: Was the Champions League part of the reason you switched to Bayern?
Kimmich: Of course being able to play these sort of games at Bayern is a contributing factor. At other clubs you might not get the opportunity to play in the Champions League. To be chosen to play from the start is obviously very nice for me.
Question: Are you altogether happy with your playing time?
Kimmich: I think the manager knows what he’s doing. Everything is fine so far. I was allowed to play in the cup, then against Darmstadt, then I started and now he’s played me two or three times since. I hope it continues like this.
Question: You feel the manager trusts you, don’t you?
Kimmich: Yes. I think if he didn’t trust me he wouldn’t play me in these games.
