One of the respective “elephants in the room” at Bayern Munich during this offseason is the status of Joshua Kimmich.
Will he stay or will he go? What position would be play if stayed?
Kimmich was asked about all of this during an interview with Süddeutsche Zeitung (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).
“Oh, great question. Well, the situation is absolutely clear: I have a contract with FC Bayern until 2025, so it’s not mainly up to me to be active right now. My focus is solely on the European Championship, and after that there will be a conversation,” said Kimmich. “I’ve been playing (right-back) since March, and I’ve got the hang of it again. It’s a completely different position to what I had before in midfield, and it’s a different profile, both physically and mentally. The number six position simply requires more all-round attention. On the right, you’re limited by the line, but you have longer, more intense runs, which challenges your body. I accepted the position from the start, and now I’d say I’ve adapted to it.”
When asked if he viewed the move from the central midfield to right-back as a demotion, Kimmich dismissed the notion and thinks the idea of it was drummed up by the media.
“Okay, if someone asks me what my favorite position is, I’ll say central midfield. But this whole discussion about the role of right-back came from the outside, and to me it often seemed as if there was an attempt to create unrest,” said Kimmich. “I like playing both positions, I’ve said that more than once. The change has had no effect on my mentality, passion, or approach. Anyone who knows me even a little bit knows that. Right-back is a really exciting position, you can play it from the wing, you can play it from the middle, you can create scoring chances. But it’s also often the case that you’re up against the opponent’s best players.”
Kimmich stated that each position has distinct challenges and at right-back dealing with players like Vinícius Júnior is just part of the gig.
“Or Kylian Mbappé. But that’s exciting too. So again: I don’t see this role as a demotion at all, and it’s not as if I have a different standing in the team now. I’m still the same person, the same character and teammate,” said Kimmich. “From a distance, we might think that moving to right-back might be good for you because you would be less in the spotlight and with less responsibility,” Kimmich said. “Generally speaking, I’m definitely a responsible guy and I like to take on responsibility. But yes, it could be that the public’s attention is a little less focused on me. And maybe that’s actually good for me – there was a lot going on for a while. Now it’s a little more relaxed.”
What Kimmich did not say is that his future largely rests in the hands of Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany. As of now, there is no indication of what exactly the boss has planned for Kimmich — if anything at all.
The Bayern Munich behind the scenes drama continued this week while Germany excelled this week in UEFA EURO 2024. These are some of the topics we reflect upon this week ahead of the weekend along with the following:
- Reflections on Germany’s win against Hungary
- The automatisms in the German national side
- Should Kai Havertz continue to start up front?
- What is going on with Leroy Sané?
- Reflections on Joshua Kimmich’s performance
- Thoughts on Manuel Neuer’s performance and his future at Bayern
- Will Federico Chiesa be a good signing for Bayern if the rumors are true?
- The latest rumors regarding Jonathan Tah
- The latest on Palhinha
- What the Bayern Munich midfield might look like in the future
Germany looks good, doesn’t it?
While the group stage of the EURO 2024 tourney never appeared to be rife with overly difficult matchups, it has been impressive with how Germany has decimated its competition so far.
It is far too early too crown Germany the king of the continent just yet, but Julian Nagelsmann has the team performing at a level not seen since Hansi Flick’s first 10 games or so.
What has been especially impressive is that Germany is thriving in all aspects of the game. The goalkeeper has been solid, the defensive has been good, the midfield has been great, and the attack is doing enough to win games right now.
Nagelsmann has two dynamic wildcards in Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz, who can effectively change the game at any point, Toni Kroos has been fantastic and incredibly impactful.
There is time for this all to fall apart, but Nagelsmann messaging to the team is not one of being content. The manager looks like he will avoid a potential pitfall by not taking his foot off the gas. Instead of packing it in to close out the group stage, Nagelsmann appears to be ready to get after it and try to go undefeated.
It is a worthy time to keep the pedal down and it could pay off.
Germany has confidence and it looks like a true challenger for the title. There is no reason to let an iota of doubt seep into the squad. They are hot and the boss seems like he is ready to ride that wave.
Will it work? A nation is watching…
Song of the Week: “Float On” by Modest Mouse
We are taking things back to 2004 when this tune from Modest Mouse was all the rage.
Unlike anything else on the radio at the time, there was a good, carefree vibe to this song that was a break from the general alt rock sound at the time. The Killers were starting to really break through with a sound of their own, but for a moment, Modest Mouse just stood out from the crowd with a few different songs. “Float On” was probably the band’s biggest hit from the period and it still hits just the right way today. Enjoy:
Entertainment Rundown
House of the Dragon
The return episode dropped last Sunday and was, well, intriguing to say the least. Let’s get to it:
- One amazing thing about this series is that hoe seamlessly the conflict is woven into the story. Nothing is manufactured, it is one bad act begetting another.
- The inevitable conflict between Aemond and Daemon is going to be pretty fantastic.
- Aegon really is giving off Joffrey vibes.
- The Cregan Stark scene was awesome. I am sucker for The Wall — Watchers on the Wall is still my favorite Game of Thrones episode.
- The assassin scene with the young child was a lot to take. Kids and dogs man…hate seeing them get killed off in movies and series (hated seeing the dog get kicked, too!). Blood and Cheese were ruthless.
- Queen Helaena walking into her mother (Alicent) doing the deed with Ser Criston Cole added another layer to the story, It did appear that Otto Hightower knew there was something going on there as well.
- Overall, it was a very solid opening that built up the tension very nicely. This is shaping up to be an awesome season with a few certainties — a lot of dragons and a lot of death.
The Boys
I have not started the season as of yet because I am traveling this week, so I will binge it up returning home and recap the available episode for next week’s edition of the Weekend Warm-up.