Hansi Flick defends Bayern Munich stalwart Joshua Kimmich

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7 November 2024, 19:15 yayınlandı

At his press conference, Germany Hansi Flick coach wanted to proactively get out in front of some recent reports that suggested that Joshua Kimmich was the primary culprit for the problems that Bayern Munich was having in the midfield.

Flick was not even asked about Kimmich per Sport1 journalist Kerry Hau (as captured by @iMiaSanMia), but made it a point to defend the 28-year-old:

Hansi Flick was not asked about Kimmich, but spoke by himself about him. It was something he really wanted to say and was important for him to address. “A year ago, he (Kimmich) was world class. Now he’s making the players worse?” Flick added about recent criticism.

Flick was not done there, however. The former Bayern Munich manager wanted to let it be known that neither Kimmich, nor the rest of the team was going to get bashed on his watch:

Hansi Flick on criticism against Joshua Kimmich/players: “You’re welcome to criticize me, but leave the players alone. Jo has a mentality comparable to that of Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan. But he can have a bad phase, too.”

Just a few years ago, Kimmich was Germany’s “Golden Boy”, but the luster has begun to wear off. Can he repair the damage to his image with a strong 2023/24 season for Bayern Munich and lengthy run for Germany in the Euros?

Surely, those things would help take away some of the criticism that he is facing these days.