Matthias Sammer, Bayern Munich's sports director, is concerned about all the hype. Six months ago, the talented young midfielder, Joshua Kimmich, had played just one minute of Bundesliga football. Now he is all set to go with Germany's world champions to Euro 2016 as a star.
"He's a fantastic youngster," said Sammer ahead of Bayern's Uefa Champions League last-16 second leg against Juventus, "but let's hope he's not easily swayed by all the theatre and the media that's surrounding him." Sammer pleaded: "Let's let him remain normal."
Kimmich turned 21 last month, just after he had begun his reinvention as a central defender for a Bayern missing several senior men in that position. He has made one or two false moves in his new role but some very sound judgements and interventions, too. For the starlet, playing as a stopper has turned out be his showcase. He joined Bayern last summer from the Stuttgart Under 21s, seen as a long-term prospect, perhaps a future Bastian Schweinsteiger, the commanding central midfielder whom Bayern had sold to Manchester United in August, his energies on the wane. Kimmich grew up looking up to Schweinsteiger as a hero.
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Chances are, he will spend some of Wednesday looking upwards, risking a cricked neck. Injuries to the tall men of Bayern’s defence – Jerome Boateng, Javi Martinez, Holger Badstuber – have caused coach Pep Guardiola to push Kimmich into service in the middle of the back four and, with Juventus missing the injured, diminutive Paulo Dybala up front, their aerial threat becomes an even more important weapon.
The lofty Mario Mandzukic created problems for Kimmich and fellow emergency centre-half, David Alaba, in the first leg; Juve’s Spanish striker Alvaro Morata can also impose himself in a jump-off.
Yet in recent weeks, the 1.76m Kimmich has been making Bayern’s makeshift back line look more and more masterly. “I love this kid,” beamed Guardiola after Bayern’s defence held firm, for a 0-0 draw, against the Bundesliga’s most prolific scorers, Borussia Dortmund 10 days ago.
The Bayern coach, who has agreed to join Manchester City in July and has no wish to do so with a third successive knockout defeat in the Champions League on his three-year record in Germany, had bellowed, theatrically, some angry instructions at the player about his positioning at the end of that match.
“He’s a perfectionist,” said Kimmich of the incident, “and you can only progress working with someone like Guardiola.”
The impression Kimmich has made as a defender, a deeper role than he is used to, speaks of a quality Guardiola has always liked in a footballer: versatility, tactical flexibility and the intelligence to read a game from different perspectives. Guardiola saw it in Javier Mascherano, the Argentine who he brought to Barcelona in 2011 as an anchor midfielder and turned into a central defender; he saw it in Philipp Lahm, the Bayern captain, who he asked to operate not at full-back, Lahm’s job for a decade and a half, but frequently in central midfield. Schweinsteiger is another good model in that respect. He started at Bayern as a light-footed, tearaway, teenaged winger, and finished his long career there the commander of central midfield.
“I’d love to have longer to work with him,” beams Guardiola of Kimmich, prompting speculation that City will be monitoring the player, whose contract with Bayern runs until 2020, for some time to come.
Kimmich’s progress may very well be recognised with a first call-up to the senior Germany squad for next week’s European Championship preparation games. He aspires to a Champions League final before the Euros, and for a decisive role on Wednesday in Munich in what, 90 minutes in, has been the most epic, gripping of the Champions League knockout ties so far.
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Note: This article was modified from its original content on March 15, 2016. Originally the story also focused on Juventus striker Paulo Dybala, before news that the Argentine had been ruled out of the trip to Germany through injury
