🚨Joshua Kimmich; the most versatile player in the game right now.

It’s time for a bit of appreciation for Kimmich. Not since Philipp Lahm have we seen someone so adaptable as Kimmich. Let’s look into this more shall we?

[THREAD]
When Joshua Kimmich came in, he was adamant he wasn’t going to be just another Philipp Lahm clone, he wanted to be his own identity.

🗣”I am not Philipp Lahm II, I am the original Joshua Kimmich,” he said upon signing for Bayern.

We agree with you Josh, but is is happening?
Is Joshua Kimmich becoming a different version to Philipp Lahm?

I was going to say a more advanced version, but to say that would be disrespecting a great of the game. Lahm was one of the best of his generation. Up against great defenders such as, Marcelo and Chiellini.
🗣”He is one of the most fantastic players I ever trained in my life and one of the most intelligent. Philipp was and is a special person in my life.”

The words of former Bayern coach Pep Guardiola when asked about Lahm.

🗣”He’s got the desire, the will, the passion.
He’s got absolutely everything.”

The words of Pep Guardiola spoken about Joshua Kimmich during his time at the club.

Now to have someone like Guardiola, lavish praise on you like that, you must have something special.

I don’t know about you, but to me, Pep knew early on about
Joshua Kimmichs adaptability.

🗣”I told him that he’s perhaps one of the best centre backs in the world,” said the current City boss.

Joshua Kimmich himself, admits that he learned the most through Guardiola. And it is the Catalan that he owes his new found flexibility to.
🗣”Under Pep, I savoured every training session,” revealed Kimmich.

🗣”In the space of a few months, I learnt a huge amount about the game and found space on the pitch I wasn’t aware of before. On a personal level, he played me at various positions to make me versatile,” Kimmich
admitted.

It is this flexible nature to Kimmichs game that has drawn more and more comparisons to the great Philipp Lahm.

Philipp started out as a full back, many believe him to be the best in the world in his position for his generation.
It was later in his career that Guardiola used him in central midfield, citing Lahms footballing brain giving him an edge over many other players.

🗣”He understands the game. Not all players do. A lot of players understand his position. Philipp can play in ALL positions,” said
Guardiola.

You could copy and paste that description for Kimmich and the way he plays. He has played in a variety of different roles at Bayern, and he rarely has a bad game, his passion and desire always pull him through.

Joshua himself however, likes to play down the likeness.
🗣”I am not that calm all the time like Philipp,” said Kimmich after the 0-0 at Liverpool back in 2019. Kimmich went on to say; “He’s able to control his emotions. Sometimes I’m screaming. Maybe not off the pitch but on the pitch I’m sometimes a different person.”
In Philipp Lahms illustrious career, he is one of the few defenders to have never received a red card.

In his whole club career, Lahm received only 38 yellow cards, and 0 red cards in 530 games

Kimmich, so far, has picked up 44 yellows and 0 reds in 290 games.
Pep Guardiola famously gave Kimmich a ‘pep talk’ after a Bundesliga game against Borussia Dortmund.

A talk that Kimmich later revealed he was enjoying

🗣”I enjoyed it. When someone is that emotional, this intensity for the game, this love for the game, I think that’s good.”
A year prior to the Dortmund game, Pep was quizzed about his protégé during an Audi Cup press conference. His response was much more suited to inside the stands of the Allianz arena:

🗣”Oh, this fucking guy … ich kann ihm helfen [I can help him].”

He sure did, and then some.
Ex Bayern legend Paul Breitner, another former full back turned midfielder, thinks the comparisons between the two players are perfectly apt.

🗣”He understands tactics, the phases of the game, and knows when to change the rhythm,” said the former Bayern and Real star.
Ex Bayern legend Paul Breitner, another former full back turned midfielder, thinks the comparisons between the two players are perfectly apt. ”He understands tactics, the phases of the game, and knows when to change the rhythm,” said the former Bayern and Real star.
Ex Bayern legend Paul Breitner, another former full back turned midfielder, thinks the comparisons between the two players are perfectly apt. ”He understands tactics, the phases of the game, and knows when to change the rhythm,” said the former Bayern and Real star.
“Knows how to change the rhythm”

That is an interesting observation. Many Bayern fans would make the point that Kimmich is the one who dictates the pace that Bayern go through the midfield. When to slow the game down, and when to pick the moments to attack. A proper footballer.
Kimmich is Bayern’s lynchpin in the midfield, like a wasp at a picnic, is hard to shake off and a nightmare to play against.

He is difficult to label, in the role he plays, as he has many strings to his bow.

One thing that sets Kimmich apart is his footballing brain.
He is always thinking ahead, looking where to play the next pass even before he has the ball.

He is always well aware of his surroundings, making sure where the opposition is, but also calibrating the next course of action. He is always thinking.
He is always thinking ahead, looking where to play the next pass even before he has the ball.He is always well aware of his surroundings, making sure where the opposition is, but also calibrating the next course of action. He is always thinking.
He is always thinking ahead, looking where to play the next pass even before he has the ball.He is always well aware of his surroundings, making sure where the opposition is, but also calibrating the next course of action. He is always thinking.
Kimmichs incredible mental strength and confidence pushes him to keep improving more and more. Even in the all star ensemble that Bayern have at their disposal. Kimmich gives something different and invaluable, the ability to be a difference maker, even from a deep lying position
When you watch Kimmich, and you remember how Lahm played the game, there is a perfect argument to make for the comparison. But, we are very fortunate to have at FC Bayern, one of the most tactically adaptable footballers in the world right now.
Ask a fan of any club, on who you would want to sign from this Bayern Munich team, I would hazard a guess that maybe 7 out of 10 would say Kimmich.

We have not seen a player since Lahm, who is so adept at more than one position, and makes an argument to be the best itw in each.
Even Dortmund CEO, Hans-Joachim Watzke, understands that this current Bayern team is probably “the best team ever to play for Bayern,” he admitted after Bayern demolished Barcelona 8-2 in Lisbon.

🗣“I always wanted to be me and not a Lahm clone or Lahm the second,” said Kimmich
In an interview in 2018.

Well Josh, unfortunately these comparisons aren’t going to stop in some sectors. In this writers opinion, we have a player who fits the Lahm mould perfectly.

They didn’t break the mould with Lahm, they just reshaped it.

King Kimmich, don’t ever change.
You can follow @Munik86.
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