The pair of star defenders leaves a gaping hole in Vincent Kompany’s setup at the worst possible time.
Now that Alphonso Davies and Dayot Upamecano are confirmed out following a devastating international period for Bayern Munich, injury wise, the question turns to: who steps up?
It will be a conundrum for head coach Vincent Kompany, who has key Champions League fixtures as well as the final slate of Bundesliga games to navigate in the coming weeks. Davies is out for the year with a torn ACL, while Upamecano could return. Nonetheless, let’s run through some options.
Next Man Up
Eric Dier is the logical choice at center-back and has already stepped up well in his time at Bayern whenever called upon. The former Tottenham man should get the first look and has good odds to lock down a place on the roster next year while he’s at it — his current contract runs only until June.
At left-back, the question is more open. Veteran Raphaël Guerreiro is experienced in the Bundesliga but the former Borussia Dortmund left-back is not known for his defensive prowess. He’ll have a hard time replicating Davies’ famous track-backs, but has popped up in various positions, including on the right flank and in midfield, and shined for Bayern going forward.
Hiroki Itō has not played a lot yet for Bayern, but when he has, he’s looked good. He is more of a center-back/left-back profile, but he has been deployed in an inverting sense and has made some impressive passes to penetrate the opponent’s final third. As with Guerreiro, Itō’s selection could change Kompany’s thinking with the forward lines, but in a different way.
Where does Josip Stanišić fit?
The Croatian international and FC Bayern youth product has seen fits and starts to his Bayern career, but as his last season with Leverkusen has shown, he is more than ready.
It’s just — his most natural position is probably at right-back, which does not figure to be impacted by the defensive shuffle.
Still, Stanišić has versatility and has played all over the defensive line, including for Bayern, and including at left-back. In central defense, should Dier or Kim Min-jae — held out of the international break due to fitness concerns — need a rest, Stanišić is now the top option to rotate in.
Or is he?
Could we see Leon Goretzka?
A darkhorse candidate at least for certain matchups or certain game states. Goretzka, the once odd-man-out midfielder who had to play center-back to see the field at all last fall, has worked his way back into the starting rotation for club and country. But he’s tall, strong, and definitely can put in a shift in central defense, even if it is far from his most natural position.
How would the team look around him, though? Recall last Spring, Thomas Tuchel experimented with having Goretzka tuck in to left-back positions from central midfield in build-up. It was an intriguing wrinkle and most importantly, Goretzka and the team looked good doing it.
From the center-back position to start with, Goretzka could occupy those same spaces in order to allow the nominal left-back further freedom to venture forward — or, particularly, to tuck inside to central areas in midfield. That is something Itō and Guerreiro are both comfortable doing, and for that matter, it is something Kompany has asked of Davies, too.
It would likely require a true winger to roam the left flank — think Kingsley Coman — and a center-back hybrid in Stanišić to feature at right-back in place of the more adventurous Konrad Laimer.
As for when such a situation could arise — who knows? Rest, further injuries, substitutions…down two key figures in defense, it is probably time for Bayern to think through all the contingencies. And in games where Bayern dominate and need to crack a low block…or UCL ties where the Bavarians have to chase goals…it doesn’t hurt to have an extra box-to-box offensive threat holding down the fort in defense.
But what do you think?
What will be the Champagne XI without Davies and Upamecano? What else might we see from Kompany? Let us know in the comments below!
Looking to unpack your feelings on Bayern Munich’s latest injury crisis? Check out the Bavarian Podcast Works — Emergency Edition, which covers the season ending injury to Alphonso Davies and Dayot Upamecano’s long-term issue as well. You can get the show on Patreon, Spotify, or below:
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