Joshua Kimmich, who doesn’t know this German passport player? The man who is often called Kimmich is one of Bayern Munich’s mainstay players at this time. This versatile defensive player is one of the keys to Bayern Munich’s success in winning the Bundesliga treble, DFB Pokal and Champions League last season. He is also predicted to be the successor to the Bayern Munich legend, Phillip Lahm. So, what are the factors that make Josuha Kimmich predicted to be Phillip Lahm’s successor?
Before discussing more deeply, it would be nice if we get acquainted with Joshua Kimmich first. Joshua Kimmich was born in Rottweil, Germany on October 8, 1996. Joshua Kimmich’s football career started from the VFB Bossingen academy. In 2007, Kimmich was bought by VFB Stuttgart which later became Kimmich’s first professional football club. With a promising performance, RB Leipzig was also interested in bringing in Kimmich at a transfer fee of £ 450.00.
Under Ralf Ragnick, Kimmich showed his talent and quality even more. Kimmich’s slick and mesmerizing game made Bayern coach Pep Guardiola interested in bringing in this wonderkid. During the 2015-16 season, Kimmich moved to Bayern Munich, as Pep Guardiola fell in love with his quality and versatility which was immediately apparent when he played in various positions for Bayern in his first season. He made his Bundesliga debut for Bayern against FC Augsburg where he came on as a substitute. In the 2015-16 season, Kimmich made 23 appearances for Bayern Munich.
Kimmich’s international career is also quite brilliant. He made his U17 debut for Germany U17 in an international friendly against Azerbaijan in November 2011. He was then selected for the Germany U18 team, before being called up to the U19 team in November 2013. He made his U19 debut against France. Currently, he is also a mainstay player for the German national team under the tutelage of Joachim Loew.
At the start of his arrival at Bayern, Pep projected Kimmich to be in the right fullback position, the same as Phillip Lahm’s position. However, Phillip Lahm was still Pep Guardiola’s first choice at the time so Kimmich’s potential had not been maximized. After Phillip Lahm’s retirement, Kimmich became Pep Guardiola’s first choice in the position of right fullback. Kimmich also proved his capability in becoming a modern fullback.
A modern fullback is required to be able to defend and attack in a fast tempo. He is also in charge of managing attack transitions, doing offensive dribbles towards the opponent’s defense, and is required to be able to provide accurate crosses. This of course requires dribble and passing skills, as well as high intelligence in reading situations. All of the above abilities are owned by a Kimmich. He was very brave in doing offensive dribbles which made the opposing fullbacks struggle in marking Bayern players. In terms of defending, he also dared to duel with the opposing winger even though in his posture, Kimmich was classified as a player with a short body and small body size. As evidenced by Kimmich’s statistics in the 2016/2017 season, he managed to average 84 passes per 90 minutes yielded 7 assists.
The 2019/2020 season is the best season for Kimmich. He is already Bayern’s first choice in two positions, namely right fullback and CDM. When Bayern was still being coached by Niko Kovac, Kimmich was still the first choice in the right fullback position. However, after the dismissal of Niko Kovac and the arrival of Benjamin Pavard from VFB Stuttgart, Kimmich became a solid CDM under the tutelage of Hansi Flick. Tandem Kimmich-Thiago Alcantara became the deadliest midfield tandem of the 2019/2020 season. It was proven that in that season, Bayern managed to win all competitions that were followed by them.
What Joshua Kimmich has in common with Phillip Lahm lies in his playing style which tends to be more offensive. They are the type of fullback who are willing to help attack, even don’t hesitate to get into the opponent’s penalty box. They can also do fairly accurate long passes and crosses. They are also defensive players who can play in various positions other than fullback such as the Central Defensive Midfielder or CDM for short. Similarities in many areas have made Kimmich often tipped off as the successor of Phillip Lahm.
With all the abilities Kimmich has, I think he deserves the nickname “The Next Lahm”. However, of course at a young age, Kimmich still has time to develop his abilities so that he can be even better.
ASL
