Germany has bright future in Joshua Kimmich

Kimmich is Germany’s biggest rising star / Image via o-posts.com

Last twelve months have been a steady progress for Germany defender Joshua Kimmich, who has utilised his immense potential to establish himself as first-choice full-back for both Bayern Munich and Germany.

Having grabbed the opportunity with both hands, the 21-year-old Germany international has been going from strength to strength ever since Pep Guardiola showed great vision to notice his spark and hand him the first-team duties.

Last ten days have been the pinnacle of young Kimmich’s career and it is only fair to write a couple of lines as a tribute to an emerging German star.

Pep’s Project

As he ran towards the centre of the pitch after a goalless draw against Borussia Dortmund to give Joshua Kimmich a piece of his mind, Pep Guardiola once again demonstrated his outstanding educational methods.

The game had barely been over with and the Spaniard engaged in a heated monologue with his young starlet in what looked as though Guardiola was admonishing his talent.

Little did we all know that his words were meant to act as clear guidelines for a player he considered and still regards as his son.

Having recognised the talent and huge potential in his converted defender, Pep Guardiola showed great courage by playing a relatively inexperienced boy. As he was thrown straight into the fire, Kimmich on his part responded in excellent fashion.

He listened, he learned and he delivered.

From the moment he was first brought on, Joshua Kimmich amassed 23 Bundesliga appearances, 15 of which were starts – an impressive tally for a 21-year-old, who showed great versatility in both attacking and defensive roles.

Germany’s Gem

With an awareness of a much more established player, Joshua Kimmich’s ability to adapt in an extremely attack-oriented team was given a widespread praise, which ultimately earned him a senior call-up and a chance to take his talents on to the biggest international stage – the 2016 European Championship finals.

Joachim Low did not use the youngster until the final group match against Northern Ireland, but Kimmich was happy with every single minute he would get.

Having replaced Benedikt Howedes at right-back, the 21-year-old cemented his place in the team and held on to it until Germany’s final match in the semi-finals.

As a reward for his international dream debut, Kimmich was named in UEFA’s Team of the Tournament.

Plaudits were almost unbearable, comparisons with Germany legend Philipp Lahm – some argued – would only go on to break the young star, but he took it all in to become even better.

Quick learner as he is, an intuitive player going through a rapid development has made uncanny progress over a year’s time.

Ten Days of Heaven

Joshua Kimmich’s international summer ended in pure joy as Bayern Munich starlet scored his first-ever goal for Germany against Norway at the beginning of September, which ended up being a huge morale boost for the youngster who continued his excellent goal scoring record on club level as well.

His name was on the score sheet for Bayern Munich in a Bundesliga 2-0 triumph at Schalke and young starlet is expected to play a huge role in a forthcoming clash against Ingolstadt.

The Bavarians are looking at the odds of 4/11 to claim a Half-time/Full-time win at Allianz Arena on Saturday.

This week’s Champions League goal was just a cherry on top of an unbelievable 12 months however.

Carlo Ancelotti chose to upgrade Joshua Kimmich’s role in the team to one he performed under Pep Guardiola, pushing him further forward to a more attacking midfield role, which ultimately yielded great results for the Italian manager.

Bayern continue their European route with a game at Atletico Madrid towards the end of September and here are some statistical information about this game that might offer some important insight ahead of the duel:

Impressive display was seen from Joshua Kimmich in Bayern’s UEFA Champions League group stage opener against FK Rostov, when Germany’s gem capped a brilliant performance with another goal for Bayern.

Having scored his first goal for Germany, first for Bayern in Bundesliga and his first-ever Champions League goal all in ten days’ time, Joshua Kimmich has once again had the footballing world in awe.

Sky is the limit for a youngster who lacks no courage, determination, mental and physical strength to succeed as a professional football player and to go on to become one of Germany’s greatest.