Words cannot describe the state of the football Bayern Munich displayed today. The Rekordmeister went one down in the first half but were able to save face thanks to a goal from new signing Nestory Irankunda in the second half.
While the Bayern goal offered some consolation, there is no escaping the fact that today, none of the Bayern players deserved any awards.
Jersey Swap: Leon Goretzka, Bryan Zaragoza, Sacha Boey, Josip Stanišić, Vincent Kompany
A five-way tie…of Bayern players. That’s how bad it was. In fact, without any prior knowledge, it would look like a normal game between two Regionalliga sides.
Leon Goretzka had an absolutely shambolic showing — despite coming close to the goal here and there. He lost the ball countless times, looked clueless so often, couldn’t even pass the ball well, and seemed like a total novice.
For Zaragoza, it was a chance to prove himself and he faltered once again, limiting Bayern’s attack from the flank and misplacing so many crosses. Boey too dropped a disaster-class all over the pitch, and he gets a mention.
For Vincent Kompany, it shouldn’t be that difficult to beat a fourth-tier club even in a friendly. It’s not a good sign at all, especially with the awkward team setup. Even Düren made 5 subs at halftime while Kompany made none, opting to wait another 20 minutes to no avail. It is too early to say anything, but this was far from a good sign.
Josip Stanišić gets a mention for his atrocious defending, especially leading up to the Düren goal. But he was fairly involved going forward, but not a great performance in any aspect.
All 5 win the jersey swap, because fans certainly wish they were on the other team today.
Der Kaiser: Matthias Wettschka #16 (Düren)
Wettschka played the entire game and did a great job annoying the Bayern players all over the pitch. Düren wanted to create confusion in their half, force Bayern to cross the ball, and rely on the ball being in the air to prevent Bayern from making serious advances towards the goal — Wettschka was an automatic weapon with his 1.95m stature.
Honorable Mention: Bayern’s Javier Fernandez. Despite typically being a midfielder, he was subbed on as a center-back for Eric Dier. He did a great job of fulfilling both roles to an extent and gets a mention for his performance in the last few minutes of the game.
Fußballgott: Timo Kondziella #18 (Düren)
Kondziella, along with his midfield partner Gultekin completely bossed the entire Bayern midfield, Düren tried to outnumber Bayern in the middle of the pitch and keep the Bayern players trying to find a pass or win back the ball after a brief dispossession, and 21-year-old Kondziella did a great job at it, while also doing well going forward.
No Bayern midfielder even remotely deserves a mention here,
Der Bomber: Rafael Garcia #20 (Düren)
While more of a midfielder or winger, Garcia scored the goal that put Düren in front against Bayern and hence he gets the title. He will certainly remember this moment forever.
Meister of the Match: Nestory Irankunda
Gamechanger. The only player on the pitch that deserved to wear the Bayern jersey tonight. His goal minutes after coming on drastically reduced the humiliation Bayern would face, and a very good performance despite limited minutes gets him MOTM. Irankunda continues to impress in training and games, and you cannot help but see a bright future ahead of him.