Kimmich vents: ‘Worst day of my career, I’m scared of falling into a black hole’

Too young to enjoy glory with the Mannschaft, but just the right age to suffer all the big disappointments as a protagonist. It is the sad story of Joshua Kimmich from a footballing point of view. Which is unleashed after the elimination of Germany…

Too young to enjoy glory with the Mannschaft, but just the right age to suffer all the big disappointments as a protagonist. It is the sad story of Joshua Kimmich from a footballing point of view. The Bayern Munich footballer, born in 1995, was just 19 when Germany reached the top of the world in Brazil in 2014 and was still playing for RB Leipzig. Then his career, at least at club level, literally exploded. In 2015 comes the move to Bayern in 2015 and the whole series of trophies that follows. In 2016 there is also his debut in the national team, but from that point of view the problems begin for the former full-back who has become midfielder: after the semi-final at Euro 2016, there is a farewell to the first round in two consecutive World Cups.

The worst day

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It is therefore logical that the Bayern player is particularly shaken by the elimination he has just suffered from Germany. And his words, reported by Bild, explain how much the issue weighs on them, even on a personal level. “For me, on a personal level, it’s the worst day of my career. I’m afraid of falling into a black hole. These things make you think, these failures also affect me personally. We screwed up in 2018, then l Last year we also failed at the European Championships.” And he too has always ended up in the dock, which is one of Bayern’s secrets, but at national level it never seems to be able to give that extra something.

Kimmich talisman… in the negative

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And indeed, looking at Mannschaft’s balance sheet since Kimmich joined the squad, there’s enough for the footballer to think he’s a talisman… in a negative way. In 2016 reigning world champion Germany stops in the semifinals of the European Championships, but it’s a not so bad result. Things are much worse in Russia in 2018, when the Germans say goodbye to the World Cup in the first round, losing to Mexico and South Korea in the group stage. At the 2021 European Championships, the national team’s journey stops in the round of 16 against England, while this time Germany is punished by Japan and… the goal difference. If we then consider that in this period the Mannschaft also risked relegation to the Nations League (it was only saved by the change of the formula), we understand how these failures have affected Kimmich’s thinking…