Why Joshua Kimmich Could Prove Vital to Bayern Munich This Season

Although Bayern Munich walked to an impressive 3-0 win against AC Milan in the Audi Cup on Tuesday night before an adoring Allianz Arena and a purring Pep Guardiola, there was one dark moment that would have forced the club to stop and ponder.

Halfway through the first half, Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong made a late challenge on young central midfielder Joshua Kimmich and brought him to the ground. A few minutes later, the 20-year-old was walking off the pitch.

Fortunately, as the club announced on their Twitter account Wednesday, the young talent would only be out of action for a few days with a bruised thigh. Guardiola could breathe a sigh of relief. Although not many will know his name, Kimmich may well be a huge player for Bayern this season. 

Despite his young age and having only joined the club a few months ago from Stuttgart, Kimmich has very quickly come in to Guardiola's squad to prove what he can do. 

And he hasn't wasted in time in doing that. Kimmich offers exceptional passing across the pitch as well as a talent on the ball that far exceeds his young age. Like all Guardiola signings, the 20-year-old has a genuine love for possession of the ball and rarely risks losing it in any part of the pitch. 

Like Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Thiago Alcantara before him, the German youngster has quickly settled in to the side over the course of the pre-season against opponents of great quality. Kimmich already knows where he fits in to this side. 

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Guardiola angry at De Jong in the tunnel. De Jong injured Kimmich. https://t.co/9kqtfX3RBn #AudiCup #BayernMilan

— The Football Tube (@pics_soccer) August 4, 2015"

Yet what separates him from Hojbjerg perhaps—who ultimately had to take a loan move to Augsburg last season just to get game time—is the position in which he plays. Where the Dane may prefer to play further up the park as a playmaker, Kimmich seems far more content playing in front of the back line and dictating the play and pace of possession before the attacking line make their move. 

This makes him a direct competitor with Xabi Alonso, the Spanish senior international who was winning league titles and caps for Spain before Kimmich had even finished high school. So what does Alonso have to worry about?

Well, the truth of the matter is indeed the Spanish central midfielder is now 33 years of age, and with Bastian Schweinsteiger having now left the club, it seems as though Alonso will be the primary talent to stand between the midfield and defense. Except very few people think he can do that effectively. 

Tuesday's match, despite being no more than a glamour friendly, was well-contested by both sides and showed a lot of Bayern fans the difference between a side with Kimmich at its heart and Alonso in the same role. The first half performance which quick, swift and on point. The second half, with Alonso back in the side, was altogether slower and looked more sloppy. 

When playing lesser Bundesliga sides or indeed European minnows, Alonso fits Guardiola's style like a glove. Wandering around the center circle for the entire 90 minutes, the former Liverpool and Real Madrid player oft looks content resting upon his throne, spraying passes across the field like the finest NFL quarterbacks.

Yet when the competition ups its game, things change dramatically. Whenever asked to close down or indeed backtrack, Alonso is oft at odds with any competent midfielder with enough pace and technique to glide past. 

In a number of occasions in last season's Champions League—notably against Manchester City, Shakhtar Donetsk and Barcelona—Alonso simply did not look up to the task of matching Europe's best talent. 

What many do not realize is indeed Bayern do not have much cover for the aging Spaniard. Javi Martinez will most likely play in defence. Philipp Lahm is more accustomed to floating out on the right, while Arturo Vidal, Thiago Alcantara, Sebastian Rode, Gianluca Gaudino and indeed Hojbjerg all tend to move up the pitch even if tasked with playing the holding role by their manager. 

It's this lack of cover that will bother Guardiola going into the new season and is exactly why he's been so keen to give the new midfielder a crash course in jumping into the Bayern first team when, rather than if, he is called upon in the coming months. 

Kimmich may only be an exciting new acquisition for the time being, but in a few months' time, he may well be an integral part of this Bayern side. 

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