Captaincy role was one among a few reasons that tipped the scales in favor of extending with Bayern
Joshua Kimmich has agreed to a contract extension with Bayern Munich until the end of the 2028/29 season. The 30-year-old was at a crucial point in his career and had the option of playing in elite teams abroad. However, his decision to stay on at Bayern is multifaceted. As far as the sporting side is concerned, here are three important factors that swayed Kimmich’s opinion to continue playing in Munich.
Captaincy
Photo by Domenic Aquilina/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Since his early days, Kimmich was recognized as leadership material by the Bayern management and coaching staff. Since then, he has been groomed to eventually don the armband and lead the Bavarians. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Kimmich was offered the captaincy role as part of his contract negotiations.
In his interview with FC Bayern (via @iMiaSanMia), Kimmich said, ”There were many reasons that made me extend my contract. The captain topic? Yes, that probably was also part of the reason, when you see who is and who were captain here.”
Support and respect
Photo by Marco Steinbrenner/DeFodi Images via Getty Images
While captaincy sent out a clear picture of how Bayern sees Kimmich, there were some additional aspects that had an impact.
“But what played a very big role [in the decision] was my role in the team. I see this season that I have a coach who relies on me, a club that supports me and teammates who respect me. I’m having fun leading the way and pushing the young players in the team,” Kimmich added.
Bayern Munich’s resilience
Photo credit should read Oryk Haist / GocherImagery/Future Publishing via Getty Images
Bayern had a trophyless season for the first time in 12 years. The shambolic season was topped off by the brass firing Thomas Tuchel in his very first year. The new coach Vincent Kompany was an untested prospect, yet to cut teeth at managing a top tier football team. Contracts of important players were due to expire soon. And the Champions League final being set in Munich only piled on the pressure.
Cut to March, things are business as usual at Bayern. They are through to the quarter finals of the UCL, important contracts have been extended and the club sit pretty atop the Bundesliga with a sizeable lead of eight points.
Kimmich was surprised by how quickly Bayern managed to steady the ship. He said, “It was also important to me to see how things will go after a bad season from a sporting perspective. I was surprised to see that things quickly went into a positive direction. You can see that things are not perfect yet, but we’re on the right path – at least that’s my opinion. Both the coach and the team are a big factor.”
Congratulations to both the player and the club on this agreement and cheers to many more years of immense success together!
Looking for thoughts and analysis on the German national team’s call-up list? Awesome, then check out a Bavarian Podcast Works — Special Edition show on Patreon, Spotify, or below:
Also, be sure to stay tuned to Bavarian Podcast Works for all of your up to date coverage on Bayern Munich and Germany. Check us out on Patreon and follow us on Twitter @BavarianFBWorks, @BavarianPodcast @TheBarrelBlog, @BFWCyler, @2012nonexistent, @TommyAdams71 and more.
