JOshua Kimmich shuffled completely relaxed in flip-flops through the cabin aisle. Bayern Munich’s “Aggressive Leader” didn’t show that he had recently turned an entire stadium against himself. After the 1-0 (0-0) win at SC Freiburg, the national soccer player admitted that his provocations were unsportsmanlike – but the 28-year-old couldn’t get his broad grin off his face.
“I let myself be carried away. You don’t have to do that. I understand everyone who says it was unnecessary,” Kimmich said. “You don’t have to cheer in the direction of the opposing fans. But there were a lot of emotions. There was pressure, a lot fell off. The win was brutally important for us,” said the midfielder, who irritated with his constant smile during the statements about his misconduct.
“A Counter-Provocation”
Kimmich may have been secretly happy that he only had to explain the tumult he had triggered after the final whistle – instead of the questionable condition of the record champions before the quarter-final first leg in the Champions League at English champions Manchester City on Tuesday (9 p.m. in the FAZ- live ticker for the Champions League and Prime Video).
Because although Bayern managed to take revenge for losing the cup quarterfinals against Freiburg four days earlier (1:2) and they continue to lead the Bundesliga with a two-point lead over Borussia Dortmund, they still have to improve enormously in the premier class.
The fact that Munich were only slightly better than the Sport-Club in front of 34,700 spectators in the sold-out Freiburg stadium and that they needed a long-range shot from central defender Matthijs de Ligt (51st) to win, fueled doubts about the form.
So it was just right that Kimmich caused a distraction, triggered pack formations, saw the yellow card – and was allowed to talk diligently about all of that afterwards. “When we entered the pitch before the game, the stadium announcer made it clear that they had beaten us in the cup. Then there was a ten-minute short film during the warm-up, where it was also made clear that we lost. That was deep,” said Kimmich: “So it was a bit of a counter-provocation from me.”
The fact that the people of Freiburg jumped on it and got upset made the distraction from the actual topic almost perfect. So in the end it was almost only coach Thomas Tuchel who had to provide information about the upcoming cracker in the premier class. However, Julian Nagelsmann’s successor made no secret of his concerns.
“I openly discussed the fact that we lack a bit of lightness, self-confidence and creativity – and therefore are in absolute top form,” said the coach: “But we are aware that we need an absolute top performance. It’s one of the biggest tests currently. We know about their quality – and they are also in top form. We must be very smart. Then the visor goes up – and there is a fight.”