After another meagre performance by FC Bayern, Joshua Kimmich criticised himself and his colleagues and showed understanding for the words of club legend Franz Beckenbauer, the record champion sometimes presents himself in his body language like the “Uwe-Seeler-Traditionsmannschaft”.
In the mixed-zone interview after his 3-1 win against Hannover 96, the last of the table, the right-back also talked about the controversial penalty against Jerome Boateng, the comeback of Oldie Arjen Robben and the upcoming opponent RB Leipzig.
Mr Kimmich, behind you lies a difficult game against a supposedly smaller opponent. Are you satisfied?
Joshua Kimmich: I liked the first half. We have to take a 3-0 or 4-0 break. After the half we get an unfortunate penalty kick against us. I don’t think Jerome can do much more than that. He turns away and gets the ball at the elbows. So the opponent comes back into play. Then we changed over and did a bit better, but we still can’t be satisfied with the second half. Especially after we were one more man. We didn’t play hard, a little too passively, because we didn’t want to take any counter-attacks either. But you have to expect a team like us, who want to become champions, to play harder on the third goal.
How did you perceive the situation on the penalty kick?
Kimmich: At first I thought the referee would check if there was a corner (laughs). I didn’t even think about it and when he pointed to the point, I was surprised. That was never a penalty for me. Jerome didn’t increase the body area.
Arjen Robben has made his comeback. How did you experience his substitution?
Kimmich: That was a goose bump moment. The fans only sang about Arjen afterwards. What he and Franck (Ribery) did for the club, how many important and decisive goals Arjen made in particular, is incredible. He has shaped the club in the past years and made sure that it stands where it stands now.
Another Bavarian legend, Franz Beckenbauer, had already criticised the team’s playing style before the match and compared it with the body language of the “Uwe-Seeler-Traditionsmannschaft”. What do you say to that?
Kimmich: Mr. Beckenbauer was a giant player and a giant trainer. If Mr Beckenbauer says so, it’s clear.
Do you think that the team has done too little this season from time to time?
Kimmich: Absolutely. In a lot of games that was not enough. Measured by our own standards, of course. As I said, it was okay in the first half, not much in the second. All in all, we had too many games this season where we didn’t play at our highest level.
With the championship it should still work this season. How sure are you of being at the top after the 34th matchday?
Kimmich: We still have two difficult games against Leipzig and Frankfurt in front of our chests. We are convinced that we will become champions, but still have to score four points.
What do you think of the people of Leipzig? Quite a few claim that they are currently the strongest team in Germany.
Kimmich: Apart from the match against Mainz, they get very few goals, they have extreme speed in their team. They also play a lot with long balls and then try to find the depth again and again with players like Timo (Werner) and Yussuf (Poulsen). Your all outstanding player is now slowly coming back with (Emil) Forsberg. For me, he is the head of the team, who always puts the balls through, has good movements and a good shot.
Would you be satisfied with a draw in Leipzig?
Kimmich: Hard to imagine. We always play for victory. But if it’s 1:1 after 80 minutes, we certainly won’t run forward with all the players.
How do you have to play against the Leipziger to be successful?
Kimmich: They become especially dangerous if you lose the balls in the middle, because they can play the balls well into the depth. If you leave them little space behind their own chain, then they also have a hard time. We must be careful not to make too many mistakes in the centre, because they have their greatest strength in countering.
