A Humble Star

How much excellence can you recognise when you look beyond the goals?

A goal changes the scoreboard. A good pass, early cover or the right movement before it often attracts less attention. This 2021 portrait of Joshua Kimmich focuses on those contributions to a team’s game.

The author describes a versatile player whose value is evident in different roles. Read the portrait as an observation exercise too: which actions give teammates confidence? Which recur throughout a match? Appreciating a star can become a closer examination of the work done in midfield.

The recent great successes of FC Bayern Munich are not only the result of goals from top scorers, but are also based on the performances of a very special defensive player, who has shown his worth in many important games. We are talking about Joshua Kimmich, who can be deployed in several roles, including right-back and defensive midfield. Even world-class coach Diego Simeone has recognized the importance of Kimmich for Bayern, because he highlights him in his analysis of the decisive players in the Champions League winner of 2020 when he claims “Bayern almost never lose! With Kimmich they have an outstanding player. The last time he lost the ball was when he played with his little son. ”This statement shows the appreciation that Kimmich enjoys among the greatest professionals in the world of football. It's true that Robert Lewandowski may play more spectacularly and score more goals, but Joshua Kimmich is now playing on a similarly consistent level. By looking at the statistics, one quickly realizes that Kimmich regularly achieves top scores for his defensive behavior, his passing quality and his distance covered. His great fairness should also be emphasized, because he is rarely cautioned. In addition, Kimmich is also dangerous in front of the goal. In the Bundesliga he achieved 72 scorer points in 180 appearances and has now matured into an absolute leader. Like Robert Lewandowski, he is never satisfied with his performance and strives for perfection by improving year after year. In our opinion, he is one of the players who will be considered for the Ballon d'Or in the next few years, if he maintains this level of consistency, or even improves upon it. Diego Simeone has recognized his worth in any case. Many more will do so soon as well!