Country: Germany
Club: Bayern Munich
Position: Defensive midfielder, right-back
Age: 27
Horst Hrubesch has praised Joshua Kimmich for his versatility, calling him “an intelligent player with good technical skills and agility” and a “winner.” A 2017 article on the Bundesliga’s official website referred to Kimmich’s versatility and called him a “veritable Swiss Army knife of a player,” citing Guardiola’s conversion of a player he once referred to as “one-dimensional.”
He is frequently compared to Philipp Lahm, a former captain of Bayern Munich, and is seen as Lahm’s successor.
Kimmich joined RB Leipzig’s first team in 2013 after graduating from the club’s development academy. He joined Bayern Munich a year later. Kimmich was named the UEFA Champions League Defender of the Season in the 2019–20 season after Bayern Munich won the continental treble. He was also included in the FIFA FIFPro Men’s World11 and the UEFA Team of the Year.
Kimmich decided to sign with Bayern Munich for a reported sum of €7 million, the majority of which went to VfB Stuttgart, on a five-year contract that runs through June 30, 2020. On August 9, he started his first game for the team against FC Nöttingen in the DFB-Pokal first round. The next month, on September 12, Pep Guardiola gave him his Bundesliga debut as he came on as a late substitute at home against FC Augsburg.
Kimmich participated in the 2017 DFL-Supercup and took home the championship as Bayern upset their bitter rivals Borussia Dortmund on penalties, 5-4, after extra time finished in a stalemate. He contributed a total of three assists on September 16 to Thomas Müller, Arjen Robben, and Robert Lewandowski’s goals to defeat 1. FSV Mainz 05 by a score of 4-0.
In the Champions League semifinal match against Real Madrid, he managed to score in both the first and second legs, but his team was eliminated from the competition on a 4-3 aggregate score. Kimmich concluded the 2017–18 season with six goals and seventeen assists in 47 games.
Kimmich participated in every single minute of all 34 Bundesliga games. Kimmich had two goals and 13 assists in those 34 games to place second in the league.
Along with his colleague Serge Gnabry, another product of the VfB Stuttgart academy, Kimmich provided a crucial assist for Kingsley Coman’s game-winning goal against Paris Saint-Germain in the final, which was their first Champions League championship.
In the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League, Kimmich scored the game-winning goal on October 27 in a 2-1 away victory over Lokomotiv Moscow.
Kimmich renewed his contract with Bayern on August 23, 2021, keeping him with the team through 2025.
Style of play
Due to his ability to control play in midfield, he could play as a center midfielder or even as a deep-lying playmaker.
Kimmich was hailed as a promising prospect in 2015 by Guardiola, who said of him: “…has everything a player needs. He is very intelligent, always aggressive toward the ball, strong in the air, has an eye for free space, has fantastic vision, and knows when to charge forward and when to sit back.”
