Bayern Munich’s center-back situation has clarified in 2024/25.
Last season former head coach Thomas Tuchel rotated liberally and his top pairing changed more than once as the season went on. But a new coach in Vincent Kompany, new scheme to accompany, and the departure of Matthijs de Ligt to Manchester United have combined to leave the starting pair very clear.
From a report last month in Tz, as captured by @iMiaSanMia:
Upamecano/Kim is currently Vincent Kompany’s undisputed CB duo. Both are now harmonizing better. After briefly thinking about playing him as right centre-back, Kim is now playing on the left side of the central defense
The Belgian’s intensive pressing system also helps Bayern’s defense. The distances between the lines of the team are shorter, which means there are fewer gaps for the opponents. In addition, every player is instructed to help defend. Kim’s duel success rate in the Bundesliga is 66.67%, which gives him the lead in the team’s internal statistics in this category
The burden of building up the play no longer only falls on the defensive duo. Under Kompany, Joshua Kimmich often takes care of that, and Jamal Musiala sometimes drops deep to do so. With a pass rate of 93.45%, Kim’s passes are accurate, which puts him in 10th position in the Bundesliga rankings. Upamecano (95.81%) is third. What also benefits Kim, who has won 21 aerial duels, the highest number of the current Bundesliga season, and Upamecano is that Kompany gives his players clear instructions, for example on when to push forward and when not
Still, with only Eric Dier as a nominal center-back in reserve the Bavarians are running light on squad depth. It seems only a matter of time before they bolster their ranks again and it will be telling what profile of player Kompany will opt to target.
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