I am in a top condition, the best of my career”
In the last match before the Bundesliga was suspended, Bayern Munich just won their match against Augsburg 2-0 at home in the Allianz Arena.
In what was a difficult match, Leon Goretzka scored the second goal that eventually secured the win.
All good, then? Not for the 25-year-old, who started on the bench once again.
After the game, he vented his displeasure, making clear his claim to be a regular starter week in and week out.
This situation gives the first indication of the player and character Leon Goretzka has become.
The 1.89 m tall midfielder learned his skills in the youth academy of 2. Bundesliga-side VfL Bochum before joining FC Schalke in July 2013.
Even then, almost everyone was aware of what a great talent he was.
Although his time with Schalke was marked by several injuries in the beginning and many ups and downs, Goretzka continued to develop and was inevitably called into the national team by Joachim Löw.
When his contract expired in the summer of 2018, he chose the German serial champions as the next step of an ambitious career.
Goretzka’s first season in Munich was decent.
It wasn’t an easy year for the Bavarians in general, but Goretzka made 30 appearances in the Bundesliga, 23 of which were as a starter. While he missed large parts of the start of this season due to an ankle injury, he had established himself at the beginning of Hansi Flick’s tenure and earned a lot of praise from his coach.
However, as indicated above, this has slightly changed in previous weeks, which led to his dissatisfaction.
In this tactical analysis, we will examine Leon Goretzka’s transition abilities, offensive drive, and defensive contribution.
In addition, we will also examine his weaknesses while we start this scout report with his physical attributes.
Role model athlete
Goretzka’s physical attributes are one of his main strengths.
Earlier in his career, Goretzka was repeatedly thrown back due to various injuries, so he was never able to perform consistently in his first three seasons in the Bundesliga.
However, after a chronic inflammation of the intestines was diagnosed in him in 2016, the then-21-year-old started to change his nutrition.
From then on, he did without gluten, cows milk, pork, or nuts.
Whether or not this was the main reason, Goretzka has been less frequently injured since then, which played a key role in his development.
At 1.89 m, Goretzka is a very tall midfielder weighing only 76 kg.
Despite his rather skinny appearance, he has a strong musculature and hardly a gram of fat.
His size and stature play crucial roles in defining Goretzkas “player type.”
One particular advantage is that his long stilts allow him to cover a large area in midfield.
Notwithstanding his size, he does that at a very high pace.
Especially in transition phases after winning the ball, you can frequently see him bridging the midfield at full speed pushing the ball forward.
Although he is not the typical dribbler, his excellent acceleration and impressive dynamics make it almost impossible for the defence to stop him.
Once Goretzka reaches his full running speed, he is arguably one of the fastest central midfielders in Europe.
We will talk about that in more depth throughout the article.
Whether in his own penalty area, in the opponent’s or just in midfield, Goretzka impresses in aerial duels.
This is a skill that already stood out in his early years and which he has constantly developed.
Thus, he radiates enormous danger, especially in the opposing penalty area, as he is often found in the box waiting for crosses from the flanks.
He convinces with excellent timing, impressive jumping power, body tension, and targeted precision.
All this naturally has a positive effect on his defensive work, too.
Goretzka possesses a larger cover shadow due to his size compared to the other midfielders in Hansi Flick’s squad.
While he does not have that low centre of gravity like Thiago, for instance, his long legs allow him to tackle players or intercept passes that normally seem out of reach.
In defensive transitions, once again, his speed and dynamics allow him to cover ground quickly and eventually stop or interrupt counterattacks.
I can still vividly remember at Schalke when Goretzka made those crazy runs over half the pitch to stop the counter with a clean tackle, which was followed by standing ovations from the fans.
Leon Goretzka Pressing and defensive intensity
Regarding his defensive duties, Goretzka not only possesses the physical attributes to compete on the highest level but is also generally a very disciplined and aggressive player against the ball.
Before examining his defensive contribution, it’s worth noticing that Bayern’s pressing has changed since Hansi Flick took over in November 2019 towards a higher intensity than under Niko Kovač.
The first pressing line usually consists of Lewandowski and the wingers with Goretzka behind them looking to support.
Bayern’s 8s act, in principle, relatively man-oriented and try to prevent a build-up through the opponent’s pivots or central midfielders.
Due to his more advanced role in midfield and since Bayern press high as a team, Goretzka is frequently involved in high-pressing situations.
He is very intelligent when blocking passing lanes and doesn’t blindly move out of the defensive shape to execute pressure when he would leave uncovered gaps in behind.
Nevertheless, if the defensive protection is ensured and he can make use of his cover shadow, he likes to leave his position and press the opponent.
The main pressing triggers are poor passes or players receiving the ball with the back to the goal in central areas.
Every now and then, he has to be careful not to get too overconfident and intense in these situations so that he can be taken out of the game by a single movement.
His defensive behaviour also benefits Bayern when faced with the opposition’s counterattacks.
Due to their dominant strategy, they push up very high, inevitably leaving space in behind.
Goretzka’s w
