Bayern Munich’s Leon Goretzka has always been a strong and enthusiastic competitor who has faced problems confidently. He’s dealt with competition in Bayern’s midfield, injuries and claims that he isn’t strong enough quite well. So when Bayern got drawn to play against Manchester City in the Champions League, on paper one of the toughest opponents the Bavarian giants could have gotten, Goretzka’s response was unsurprising.
Twitter account @iMiaSanMia captured the midfielder’s comments: “You can certainly not speak of luck in this draw. But there’s also something very nice about it – This is a path for real champions and we want to be ones. So I’m looking forward to it. City have outstanding individual players and a very good coach.”
With coach Josep Guardiola now in his seventh season at the club (where was this for Bayern?), Manchester City has gotten the chance to build the team’s style for many years. Goretzka acknowledges as much. “They’ve been playing together for a while and know exactly what they’re doing on the pitch, they’re extremely good with the ball and have good positional play.”
Bayern are likely at a disadvantage in this regard, considering coach Julian Nagelsmann is just in his second year at the club. But, again, this is yet another fun challenge for him. “We will take on the task and are looking forward to it.”
It is always respectable to see a player value the excitement of such a heavyweight clash rather than feel fear in the face of it. It goes a long way to determining how well the team shows up when these two titans do clash.
If you want to hear what we thought as soon as the draw was announced, check out our Reaction Show: