Joshua Kimmich: The versatile genius who is indispensable for Bayern Munich

Joshua Kimmich has developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the world this season, after excelling at full back for the last few years. Kimmich has been the backbone of this Bayern Munich side which won it’s eighth consecutive Bundesliga title this season and also won the German cup. The German champions are in the hunt for the treble this season as they are still fighting for the Champions league and the German has been crucial for their success.

The single minded orchestrator has become a midfield general for this Bayern Munich side. He has mastered the art of closing down spaces and creating something out of nothing. His incredible intelligence, discipline and versatility have made him indispensable for Die Roten.

Kimmich’s incredible professionalism, consistency, leadership qualities and versatility have made him a symbol for Bayern Munich like the legendary Philipp Lahm.

Kimmich has always shared similarities with the world cup winner. Like Lahm, Kimmich shares leadership qualities, he is incredibly consistent and has also played in multiple roles for the club. Kimmich has successfully replaced the legendary German at Bayern Munich.

But the road towards success was not straight forward for Kimmich. The defensive midfielder spent his initial years at the Stuttgart academy where first team opportunities were limited.

Kimmich moved on loan to RB Leipzig when he was 18 and made 50 professional appearances by the time he turned 20.

A certain Pep Guardiola was turning up to watch Bundesliga’s second tier games to watch the diminutive German. And soon Bayern Munich’s interest turned concrete and they signed him for 7 million.

It was a dream come true for Kimmich who joined Bayern at the best possible time. With Guardiola at the helm and training alongside Philipp Lahm, the former Leipzig man was developing into a brilliant player.

Pep is known to have different roles for different players. Lahm went from one of the best full backs in the world to one of the best defensive midfielders under Guardiola. Kimmich began his Bayern Munich career playing as a defensive midfielder and he also played as a center back or a full back sometimes under Pep. The versatile Kimmich that we have come to know now has been moulded by Guardiola.

After Pep’s departure, Kimmich played as a right back and put in incredible performances. Such was his footballing intelligence that his best position was always up for debate. It seemed like his creativity and awareness were being wasted in defence as he was too good moving forward with the ball.

The number six role is the perfect position for the German as he can act as the link between the defence and attack. Kimmich has an immaculate first touch and a very good passing range which he uses to spread the ball towards the flanks. The German is incredibly disciplined defensively too as he has covered the highest ground in the Bundesliga this season.

The defensive midfielder has often started with Thiago or Goretzka in a 4–2–3–1 formation for Hansi Flick this season. Kimmich shields the back four effectively with Thiago venturing forward and the German also carries the ball efficiently into the attacking third. He often covers the space when Benjamin Pavard bombs forward from the right back position.

All these factors suggest the number six role is perfect for Kimmich as Hansi Flick said “Kimmich was a full back but we decided to put him in the number six position because there we can better utilize his strengths. “ He moves a lot, establishes order, he can attack while also acting as a support in defence”

Kimmich also scored four goals and provided seven assists for the German champions in the Bundesliga this season.

His intelligence was perfectly portrayed in Bayern’s season defining goal against Dortmund in the Der Klassiker. Kimmich seized on a loose ball and exchanged passes with Thomas Muller. The midfielder then took a gentle first touch which opened up space and calmly chipped the ball over Burki’s head from the edge of the box.

Benjamin Pavard suffered an ankle injury recently and is out for four weeks so Kimmich is expected to move to right back for the remainder of Bayern Munich’s champions league campaign as seen in the recent friendly against Marseille. This is where his versatility is beneficial for the team.

Wherever he plays, be it at right back or defensive midfield, Kimmich is a genius and the beating heart of this Bayern Munich side. The scary fact is that he is still 25 and yet to enter his prime years. Kimmich is an emblem for Bayern Munich and might also captain both the German national team and the Bayern Munich team in the future like Philipp Lahm did, such is his consistency and professionalism.