Joshua Kimmich | The mentality monster

“Joshua Kimmich is a player that will shape Bayern Munich as a club”-Hansi Flick

[APPRECIATION THREAD]

Joshua Kimmich is one of the best players in the game right now. He is so tactically adaptable, that you could drop him anywhere on the pitch, and he’d most likely make it his own. Perhaps not as a goalkeeper, although I wouldn’t put anything past Josh. Let’s get to know him more

Joshua Walter Kimmich was born in the small village of Bösingen, near Stuttgart. Football was a regular hobby for Kimmich and the local boys of the town. Him and his friends would practice in front gardens and back yards, until one too many windows were broken.

”One day I came home and found two regulation soccer goals in the front yard,” said Kimmich. “The local football club didn’t need them anymore, and my parents took them off their hands. My dad pointed to the plot of unused private land: ‘boys, go over there and play football.”

Joshua Kimmich started off with the youth team at Stuttgart, where he played for 6 seasons between 2007-13. Kimmich first started off with local team VFB Bösingen, giving him a stage to showcase his talents when they played against the youth team of Stuttgart.

”I scored three goals against them and we won 3-2 - not a bad way to get noticed,” Kimmich remarked.

Kimmich’s parents initially turned down an invitation for him to start training with Stuttgart, until the youth coach came to their home in person and talked them around.

”Whoever was involved with letting Kimmich leave should be strung up,” said then Stuttgart head coach Alexander Zorniger. “It was a big mistake.”

One could make the argument that Kimmich would have been picked up by a bigger club, even if Stuttgart had held on to Joshua.

”This was the club at which so many other professional players had gotten their start,” Kimmich recalled

Serge Gnabry, Timo Werner and Kimmich played in the same youth set up at Stuttgart. And players such as Antonio Rudiger and Bernd Leno made their names at VFB.

Joshua Kimmich moved to RB Leipzig in 2013. As part of the RB sports network, targeting promising youth footballers from other clubs, as a way of consolidating their gains.

Kimmich joined players like Yussuf Poulsen, who had just joined RB from Danish club Lyngby BK.

Stuttgart sold Kimmich to Leipzig for €500,000, but managed to secure a buy back option of €750,000 in case his valuation rose to 7 or 8 figures

Joshua Kimmich is the only player to win the Fritz Walter Medal, twice: an annual award given to the three best youth footballers

Kimmich won the silver medal in 2013, following RB Leipzig’s promotion to Bundesliga 2. He then won the bronze medal in 2014.

He scored his first professional goal on 30th Nov 2013 against FC Saarbrucken, a 3-2 victory. He finished the season with 26 appearances and 1 goal.

He finished the 2014-15 season on 2 goals in 29 appearances, earning him his second Fritz Walter Medal

A return to Stuttgart seemed almost inevitable at this point.

A certain mister Pep Guardiola had heard of Kimmich’s growing reputation, and set on the road on a one man scouting mission.

Guardiola attended a Bundesliga 2 game between Leipzig and 1860 Munich. It proved a fruitful game for Pep. Kimmich, a player every bit a player in the

Guardiola mould. Joshua Kimmich made an amazing 78.3% of his 60 attempted passes, and enjoyed no less than 80 touches of the ball. An amazing statistic for a 19 year old.

Less than a month later, he was a Bayern player.

It had begun.

Joshua Kimmich thought the move was a wind-up when his agent first told him about it:

”Don’t joke with me,” Kimmich said.

“I couldn’t believe it because when you’re in the second league it’s not normal Bayern want you. It was even harder to believe Guardiola wanted me.”

Pep Guardiola saw to it personally that Kimmich would accept the offer to join Die Roten.

”I sat down in a conference room at Bayern’s offices waiting to meet Pep Guardiola. I was so nervous, but as he walked in, I felt it right away - that trust. I knew immediately

I wanted to play for Bayern Munich,” commented Kimmich

”Pep spoke to me about my strengths and my weaknesses, and how he wanted to help me become a better player by learning a different style of play,” ‘I want you in this team’ admitted Joshua as a moment ‘I will never forget’

”He’s always positive, always focused, always serious. Joshua has absolutely everything,” said Pep Guardiola

Bayern pushed a transfer from Stuttgart through pretty quickly, once Pep expressed interest. Bayern paid just €7m, he is surely worth 20 times this amount nowadays.

“€7m? My word, that is a lot of money for a player who has yet to appear in the Bundesliga,” said the former Stuttgart manager Huub Stevens.

It was a gamble for sure, but one that had a very low risk, but a potentially massive reward, and my word, has it been rewarding.

Kimmich went on to make 23 Bundesliga appearances in his debut season at Bayern, impressing so many with his versatility.

The new Philipp Lahm?

When Philipp Lahm retired, I, like many Bayern fans were concerned how we’d fill the void filled by such a legend.

Kimmich has excelled so much at Bayern due to his incredible versatility. Forced to play at CB due to injuries, Pep Guardiola admitted what was said to Kimmich in a very public ‘Pep talk’ after a game against Borussia Dortmund

” I told him he’s one of the best centre backs in the world, Guardiola said at the time. He’s got absolutely everything”

Joshua Kimmich however, is more humble, and especially on comparisons to Lahm, believes he still has a way to go to live up to such talk.

“He’s (Lahm) a Bayern legend, and one of German football. To be considered as such, you need to have been convincing on the highest level over many years,” said Joshua Kimmich.

Comparison between the two however are not so far fetched.

Kimmich underwent a position change similar to that of Lahm, from fullback to centre midfield.

When Pep came into Bayern he identified Lahm as the pivot in his team, dictating the tempo of the games, recognising his ability to read the game flawlessly.

In Kimmich’s debut season at full back, he averaged 2.1 tackles per game, but his passing accuracy of 92.2% was what really stood out.

“He’s got great ability, understands tactics, the phases of the game and has the intuition of when to change the rhythm,” said Bayern legend

Paul Breitner on Joshua Kimmich, drawing comparisons with a young Philipp Lahm.

When Pep Guardiola left the club after the 2015 season, and Philipp Lahm retiring the season after. Kimmich admits that it was a difficult time for him

”I also had a more difficult phase at Bayern

when Carlo was there. I had a very good first year with Pep beforehand. I came as a second division player and was a national player at the end of the season. I’ve taken a big step there.”

Despite this, Kimmich does not blame the Italian manager, but stressed that despite

achieving everything on the pitch, players can still doubt themselves.

”You have days when you drive home and ask yourself: is that enough? Is your quality enough to play at Bayern?” Admitted Kimmich

With Lahm retired, a spot was free in the midfield, and Kimmich filled it and then some!

2017 was a huge year for Kimmich, he stepped into Lahm’s shoes almost instantly, putting in some stunning performances, and ultimately winning the German Player Of The Year accolade

Like Lahm, Kimmichs passing numbers went up to match his more controlled position on the field.

His passing average p/g went up from 51.2 to 61.8

His defensive numbers dropped from 2.4 tackles and interceptions to 1.8. Much attributed to his focus on progressing higher up field

During the 2017/18 season, Kimmich played 30 games, assisting 10 and scoring 1, more than one third involving a goal contribution.

He also completed 55 chances, made 35 interceptions, and 75% of tackles won.

2017 German footballer of the year

Between June 2016 and October 2017, Kimmich made a stunning 24 consecutive appearances for Germany - bettering a sequence set by Franz Beckenbauer. Kimmich impressed so much during this period, his Player of the Year award was won by a mile, with 43.5% of the votes.

Growing up, Kimmich wanted to emulate some of his early idols. They included Zinedine Zidane and Krassimir Balakov.

Kimmich’s passion and willingness to win at all costs easily draw comparisons with any of these legends. I myself liken him to a young

Stefan Effenburg or Bastian Schweinsteiger. Who’s to say he can not equal or better their legacies?

”Xavi Hernandez and Bastian Schweinsteiger. However my first jersey I had from the then Dortmunder Thomas Rosicky,” said Kimmich on his past idols.