High quality, striving for perfection, and above all - human • Kimich's sweat, more than any Bayern Munich player, symbolizes the essence of the club • No wonder the Bavarians want him until the end of his career and have already marked him as the next captain • Tonight (22:00) Sevilla will have to face European Cup
Kimich.
"There will no doubt be a captain"
Photo:
IP
Kimich celebrates with his friends the victory in the Champions League
Photo:
AFP
About a month ago, Bayern Munich entered the sixth Champions Cup in its glorious trophy cabinet.
The players of the Bavarian Empire went out of their way on the lawn at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon, and while the cameras focused quite a bit on the sweating of Kimich, the man who marks the current Bayern perhaps more than any other player.
He celebrated with Muller frantically, received love from his coach Hansy Flick, and hugged at length with Serge Gnabry, a friend of Stuttgart's youth.
Just moments before the medal ceremony he managed to digest that he had achieved the greatest title of his career so far.
It was the moment when the tears had already begun to shed.
Kimich, who almost always manages to fight everything in front of him, has failed to fight his feelings.
Since Pep Guardiola brought him from Leipzig about five years ago, Kimich has been marked as a player set to reach greatness.
His ability to play a variety of roles - right-back, brakeman and midfielder - raised his stakes every week, and to his delight there were quite a few wonderful players around him from whom he learned about every position.
Philip Lam, Arturo Vidal, Thiago Alcantara and many more goodies.
Last year, when Flick replaced the fired Nico Kovac, Kimich was among the first to enter him for a personal conversation.
The inexperienced coach has informed him that now, except in exceptional cases, he will only play as a midfielder.
"He moves a lot, sets the pace, is able to attack without abandoning the defense. This is his place," the coach explained.
Xavi has long been in love
Exceptional cases came in the decisive stages of the Champions League.
Benjamin Favre was injured, and Kimich returned to the right-back position.
The result: a goal in the historic 2: 8 over Barcelona and cooking for Kingsley Coman in the final against PSG.
His impressive ability in the flash tournament in Portugal brought up for discussion again what everyone already knew.
Whatever the team will need from him - he will do.
"Kimich shows impressive maturity. He is at a level that allows him to play in any position, in any team in the world," was impressed by his former friend and one of his mentors, Xavi Alonso.
Except for the professional ability, which last season totaled 7 goals and 15 assists in 50 appearances, what is more impressive with Kimich are the things that are not seen in the statistics and have not gone unnoticed by the club members, or those outside it.
Already at the age of 25, Kimich is one of the pillars of the Bavarian dressing room.
Although he did not grow up in Bayern, there is a perfect synchronization between the club's ideology and his personality - Mia san Mia - ("We are who we are and we will do the best we can").
Gnabri, Sola and Kimich // Photo: AFP
The push he gives his teammates, the toughness on the pitch and the tremendous passion expressed in his roars of joy and anger have led to reports that Bayern already want to extend his contract ending in 2023 and even aspire to retire from the team.
"There is no doubt that Kimich will be the captain of Bayern. It will not happen because of his ability as a footballer, although as such he is perfect. It will happen because he has a vision of the world that is far better than his game vision," said chairman Karl Heinz Rominga.
The worldview that Rominga is talking about was expressed when a few months ago, Kimik, together with his friend Leon Gorczka, set up an aid fund for the victims of the Corona and raised more than 5 million euros in a short time.
Both players, by the way, donated a considerable amount themselves.
In addition, the two donated $ 80,000 to the Auschwitz Museum, which was hit by the shortage of tourists.
When interviewed about his off-field activities, Kimich was moved when he said, "I don't want kids looking at me to just learn how to kick a goal. I want them to learn to live in a society where they help the weak."
In a club before World War II, called by the Nazis a "Jewish club", such acts automatically make your Kimi an icon.
Not because of the athlete he is, but mostly because of the person he is.
Tonight, against Sevilla in the European Super Cup, he will do what he knows best: be there for the club.