Why Jerome Boateng Will Be Key Member of Bayern Munich Champions League Squad

In two week's time, Bayern Munich will travel to far-off Lviv in Ukraine to face Shakhtar Donetsk in the last 16 of the Champions League. The Ukrainian side will be playing in a largely neutral ground with the current troubles in eastern Ukraine forcing the club to relocate on a temporary basis in Kiev, meaning Bayern shouldn't expect too rough a welcome on the night. 

However, Pep Guardiola will still arrive on the night with a familiar frown troubling his face. Mircea Lucescu's side will be hoping to throw everything it has at Bayern's defence, a threat that wouldn't seem so troubling if Guardiola's best defender, Jerome Boateng, wasn't in the midst of a three-match ban.

The German international will be available for the European clash, but questions will be raised over his fitness and sharpness following the straight card he received against Schalke. Bayern will desperately need Boateng at his best on the night if they have any hope of getting out of Ukraine unscathed. 

It may seem rather dramatic at first to suggest that the defender is so integral to Bayern's success, but few fans would argue with the suggestion that Boateng is the only properly used, in-form central defender at the club right now. 

In the intense world of Guardiola—a land that demands defensive lines capable of defending on the half-way line with pace, skill and finesse—few are capable of matching the perfectionist's expectations aside from the German international. 

Kerstin Joensson/Associated Press

As we've seen countless times this season, Boateng seems to be the only central defender who possesses all the attributes required to succeed in this system. Strong in the air, quick enough to chase down any striker and a technical ability that allows him to push into midfield to begin plays—Boateng ticks all the boxes where other central defenders simply don't. 

One alternative salvation for Bayern is a little-known defender by the name of Mehdi Benatia, the deadline-day acquisition who certainly has all the talent and skill to succeed as Boateng has done this season. 

Yet for some reason, Guardiola doesn't trust the Moroccan international, who has only featured in nine of Bayern's 19 Bundesliga games. Signed for a significant fee as one of the great defensive talents in Europe last summer, Benatia tends to find himself sitting on the bench, unused despite Bayern's problems at the back this season. 

In the player's defence, Benatia has started five of Bayern's six Champions League games this season, but taking one look at the group in which the German club progressed from, it would suggest that Guardiola applied very little attention or indeed fear to the opponents before him in the European competition. 

The Catalonian coach has tended to play a back four with Boateng and Dante with David Alaba or Juan Bernat on the left and Philipp Lahm, Rafinha or Mitchell Weiser on the right in worthwhile games. He also employs a back three in which Guardiola sticks by Boateng but places two of the aforementioned full-backs alongside him. 

To put it plainly, the Bayern coach simply doesn't trust any of his other central defenders at the moment. 

This suggests that Guardiola is likely to stand by his current system as he ventures further into the Champions League, offering greater and greater risks against sides such as Shakhtar and even more dangerous sides later on in the competition. 

Football fans may be a fickle bunch, but Bayern fans will still remember last season's two-legged affair with Real Madrid, which perfectly illustrated what can go wrong with Guardiola's tactics when the coach either stubbornly ignores the problems in his side or simply refuses to act upon them. 

Benatia may well remain in place for the coming Champions League tie and bolster a defence that will surely look vulnerable against the likes of Douglas Costa and Luiz Adriano, but if he doesn't, Bayern will be solely reliant on Boateng to hold the fort. 

Boateng is a fantastic defender, constantly improving under his new coach, who has quickly become a key member of the squad in the Bundesliga and Champions League this season.