Why Juan Bernat Has Been Bayern Munich's Find of the Season

It seems odd to consider that only two seasons ago Juan Bernat was playing as a backup left-sided winger for Valencia in the Spanish first division. Fast forward to today and what we may well have is a fully fledged Bayern Munich player and possibly one of the best left-backs in the world.

Another interesting twist in the Bernat tale is the manner in which the Spaniard arrived in Munich. Signed under the guidance of Pep Guardiola—who has obviously been a fan for quite some time—very few fans truly understood the need for such a player.

Bayern had David Alaba, the 22-year-old Austrian international and, perhaps more importantly, their own candidate for the title of the world's best full-back. This was just Guardiola overthinking things again; finding solutions to problems that didn't exist. Oh, how wrong we were.

In the past eight months, Bernat has not only fought his way into the Bayern first team, but he has also bunkered down, done the hard work and now stands tall as one of the first names on Guardiola's teamsheet each and every week.

In a fashion only too typical of the feverish mind of Guardiola, Alaba began playing in the middle of the pitch as a central, holding midfielder at the start of the season, while Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm both recouped from a successful World Cup campaign.

This was almost entirely down to the fact that the Bayern coach had Bernat to fall back on at left-back as a like-minded attacking threat of exceptional technical ability. Yet nobody really imagined just how well the Spaniard would replace a player many thought was nailed down as Bayern's left-back for years to come.

What is most striking about the arrival of Bernat to Bayern is the manner in which he is so similar to the player he has since replaced. Bernat, like Alaba, is a player of exceptional speed who can dribble, pass and score like any of the more attacking players in the side.

His ability to not only hug the touchline with breathtaking precession but also cut inside and drive directly at an opposing defence has perhaps been one of Bayern's greatest assets this season.

Such pace and fitness has allowed Bayern to maintain a style of wing-back play down the left flank of the side despite moving Alaba inside and losing a number of players through injury for much of the season.

Of course, it’s not just his attacking ability that has made him an exquisite left-back. With such speed, it truly takes something special to pull away from the Bayern defender, and even if a forward can momentarily skip past the Spaniard, he rarely breaks away for too long before Bernat is on his tale and dispossessing him with a slide tackle.

Although much of this season’s exceptional defensive record will go down to the expertise of Jerome Boateng and Manuel Neuer, no Bayern fan will be able to look at Bernat’s role in the side this season without acknowledging just how vital he has been to the defensive unit as a whole.

Whether making the step up to Champions League football or playing against the likes of Wolfsburg, Bayer Leverkusen or even Borussia Dortmund, Bernat has excelled in each and every game.

Wingers can’t get past him and opposing defenders hate the sight of him; Bernat has been a joy to watch and is undoubtedly Bayern's find of the season.

Follow @sbienkowski