Joshua Kimmich Scouting Report At Bayern Munich 2019/2020 – Player Analysis

Bayern Munich has had a rollercoaster of a season by their standards, dropping 12 of their first 30 points possible.

While their lowest position in the table has only been 7th, earning 18 out of a possible 30 points was not considered to be good enough for the Bavarian giants.

Niko Kovač was relieved of his managerial duties, and Hansi Flick was initially brought in on an interim basis before recently signing on to manage Bayern until 2023.

One of the big moves that Flick has made which has coincided with Bayern’s ascent up the Bundesliga table is his use of Joshua Kimmich as a defensive midfielder.

Under Kovač, Kimmich split time fairly evenly, spending nine of his matches at right-back and seven of his matches as a defensive midfielder.

During that time period, Bayern recorded nine wins, five losses, and two ties.

Since then, Kimmich has primarily served as a defensive midfielder, primarily by himself in a 4-3-3 or with a partner in a 4-2-3-1.

Bayern have played 21 games under Flick, winning 18 of them, almost all of those wins coming with Kimmich playing a more central role.

This tactical analysis serves as a scout report for Joshua Kimmich.

An analysis of the tactics employed by Hansi Flick will explain how Kimmich fits into Bayern’s plans and how he has contributed to their resurgence to the top of the Bundesliga, where they currently sit at the top of the table with 55 points, four points ahead of their rivals, Borussia Dortmund.

Joshua Kimmich Defensive positioning & responsibilities

One of the main priorities for any defensive midfielder is to make sure that he is providing cover for the defensive line behind him.

The more work that Kimmich can do to protect them means that those four, particularly the two centre-backs, are less likely to be forced into making a challenging decision.

With much of the time in his career spent as a right-back, Kimmich likely has a deep understanding and appreciation for the role a successful defensive midfielder plays.

His ability to constantly scan the field in all phases of the game make him one of the top defensive midfielders in today’s game.

In this image from the match against RB Leipzig, Bayern had just been defending on the right side of the pitch, where the pass is played from.

As Bayern’s players began to shift over to defend, Kimmich, highlighted with the green arrow, continued to check his shoulder for Dani Olmo and Timo Werner, who were running between the defensive lines all night.