March 2025 has been a mixed bag for Bayern Munich.
By Zach Lowy
Dayot Upamecano, who has formed a stalwart central defensive pairing with Kim Min-jae, is out for the rest of the season after suffering knee cartilage damage whilst representing France in the UEFA Nations League. Alphonso Davies, who has proven indispensable at left back, also damaged his knee cartilage and tore his ACL whilst on international duty with Canada, and he will miss the next 6-8 months.
Their form has been equally ambivalent: Bayern brushed aside Bayer Leverkusen with a 5-0 aggregate victory in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, but they also failed to beat two relegation-battling sides, losing 3-2 to Bochum and drawing 1-1 at Union Berlin.
Apart from their qualification to Europe’s elite eight, perhaps the biggest positive from March has come off the pitch, rather than on it. Joshua Kimmich extended his contract through 2029, becoming the latest starter to commit their long-term future to Bayern after Jamal Musiala (2030) and Davies (2030) and putting an end to months of speculation. Rather than departing on a free transfer this summer, Kimmich has penned a deal that will see him earn a reported €20 million per season, bonuses included. Kimmich was 20 when he left Saxony for Bavaria – by the time his current deal expires, he will be 34.
“Mentality and identity – that is what Joshua Kimmich represents,” stated Bayern’s Director of Sport Max Eberl. “He has internalized the DNA of FC Bayern over the years and embodies it both on and off the field. Where others stop, he starts. We are very happy that he will continue to drive our team forward.”
After developing at Stuttgart’s academy, Kimmich spent two years at RB Leipzig before joining Bayern for €7 million in 2015. One year after playing in Germany’s second tier, Kimmich was competing in the Champions League, learning from Pep Guardiola, playing a key role in Bayern’s domestic double, and deputizing in a variety of positions from center back to central midfielder to right winger. Between Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti, Hansi Flick, Thomas Tuchel, and Jupp Heynckes, Kimmich has worked under some of the game’s greatest managers during his time in Munich, and it’s clear that this privileged footballing education has helped him emerge as a world-class contributor in not one, but two positions.
When Philipp Lahm retired in 2017, Kimmich went from jack-of-all-trades to full-time right back. When Thiago Alcântara departed for Liverpool three years later, Kimmich went from Bayern’s #32 to their #6 and filled the Spaniard’s void as Bayern’s deep-lying midfield playmaker, although this didn’t stop him from reaching 20+ goal contributions for the fourth consecutive campaign. Whatever position he’s been used at, Kimmich has proven crucial in Bayern’s domestic dominance, racking up 20 trophies across his decade in Bavaria. And whilst he came up empty last season amidst Leverkusen’s ruthless domination, he is poised to add a ninth Bundesliga championship to his resume and potentially even a second Champions League title.
Bayern sit six points clear of second-placed Leverkusen with eight matches remaining, and they’ve done so thanks in large part to the consistently world-class performances of Kimmich. Having been forced to deputise at right back over the final months of the 2023/24 campaign, Kimmich is back in his preferred central midfield position, and the results have been clear as day.
Kimmich is the second-highest FotMob player (7.90) of the 2024/25 Bundesliga season after Omar Marmoush (8.23), who joined Manchester City in January. Paired alongside the more physically imposing box-to-box midfielder Leon Goretzka in the double pivot, Kimmich has the license to roam around the pitch and orchestrate moves from deeper areas. At 5’10″, he has a fairly low centre of gravity that enables him to wiggle out of pressure and keep the ball glued to his feet whilst carrying the ball forward, but his modest stature doesn’t impede him from holding his own in 1v1 battles, winning an impressive 63.3% of his duels. Such is his leadership and never-say-die spirit that both Vincent Kompany and Julian Nagelsmann have entrusted him with the captain’s armband with increasing regularity for Bayern and Germany.
Similar to the dogs that hail from his hometown of Rottweil, Kimmich isn’t afraid to bear his fangs and get his paws dirty in order to win the ball back. Whilst he’d prefer to stall his opponent and wait for a slip-up before making his move, he isn’t afraid to put in a lunging tackle in order to prevent his defence from being exposed. Thanks to his positional awareness and self-confidence, he constantly has his head on a swivel and is constantly backing himself to step up and intercept a dangerous ball or track back and outmuscle his opponent, racking up 6.09 recoveries per 90. Moreover, his proactivity and in-game intelligence permit him to not only put out fires but catch the opponent napping, pounce on an errant pass or a sloppy touch and recover possession in advanced areas, before shredding the backline with a razor-sharp pass.
Kimmich’s moneymaker is arguably his long passing and overall ball-striking. He thrives at dropping between Bayern’s central defenders, alleviating pressure on the backline, enabling his fullbacks to push forward, and spreading the possession into deeper areas with his measured through balls. Kimmich ensures that all 11 players are beating to the same drum and receiving the ball in the best possible areas to make a positive impact. He leads the Bundesliga with 101.8 accurate passes completed per 90 and 65 chances created, whilst only Dortmund’s defensive colossus Nico Schlotterbeck (6.1) is playing more accurate long balls per 90 than Kimmich (5.8).
But he isn’t just a midfield metronome – he’s also their creative protagonist, capable of unpicking deep blocks with a sumptuous chipped pass, or bewildering the goalkeeper with a swerving cross into the box, or playing a quick give-and-go and feeding his teammate with just the right amount of pace on the ball. All told, Kimmich is one of the most complete players in world football, a player who is equally capable of blitzing down the flank and conjuring up a tap-in for his centre forward as he is jockeying his opponent and shepherding him into safety. A player who not only ranks amongst the best central midfielders in the world and the best right backs, but also one of the greatest players in club history. Kimmich is the 14th-leading appearance maker at Bayern, having played more times (430) than the likes of Franck Ribéry, Robert Lewandowski and Lothar Matthäus.
The 30-year-old leads all UEFA Champions League players for chances created (35), big chances created (11), and expected assists (4.2), whilst he showcased his attacking prowess in Germany’s recent matches against Italy. Germany found themselves behind until the 49th minute when Kimmich lined up a cross from deep and took aim, launching a perfectly weighted cross for Tim Kleindienst to head home, before completing the comeback with a brilliant corner kick to the near post for Goretzka to nod past Gianluigi Donnarumma. The second leg would see Kimmich open the scoring from the penalty spot before assisting Musiala and Kleindienst, leading them past an Azzurri side that featured various Inter players like Nicolò Barella, Alessandro Bastoni and Davide Frattesi, and into the UEFA Nations League semifinals.
Bayern will face St. Pauli and Augsburg before competing against Inter in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals. It remains to be seen whether Kompany’s side can weather a storm which has seen various key players like Upamecano, Davies, Manuel Neuer and Aleksandar Pavlović succumb to injury, but one thing’s for sure: if Bayern are to get past the Italian champions and advance to the final four, they’ll need Kimmich to bring his A-game in both legs.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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