Latest news with #JoshuaKimmich
Yahoo
10-08-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bayern Munich's Aleksandar Pavlovic sidelined until September
reports that Bayern Munich midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic will be sidelined through the coming Bundesliga season's first international break. Pavlovic underwent eye socket surgery last week. The nature of the procedure will keep him out for the duration of the month. A return in September is targeted. Pavlovic – who missed a number of games last season due to injury and illness – will thus not be an option for Bayern's Supercup date with Stuttgart, the opening round Pokal fixture against SV Wehen Wiesbaden, or the first two Bundesliga fixtures against RB Leipzig and FC Augsburg. Bayern face Hamburg in their first league match after the break. Until then, veteran midfielders Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka look to anchor the midfield. Young German phenom Tom Bischof shall also look to take advantage of his chances to earn minutes. FCB head coach Vincent Kompany has been rotating the trio in Bayern's first two preseason friendlies. GGFN | Peter Weis
Yahoo
03-08-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bayern happy as Luis Diaz shows his potential in debut
Luis Diaz didn't score in his Bayern Munich debut but he showed enough potential to create a little bit of pre-season euphoria at the Bundesliga champions. "Luis Díaz is someone who loves football and always has a smile on his face. That's what we need," midfielder Joshua Kimmich said Diaz' debut in Saturday's 2-1 win over Olympique Lyon. Diaz arrived on Wednesday from Liverpool for a reported €75 million from Liverpool ($87 million). It was the only good summer news so far for Bayern after Florian Wirtz snubbed then and went to Anfield instead, and VfB Stuttgart are so far unwilling to let Nick Woltemade join Bayern. In addition, Jamal Musiala is out injured for many months. Immediate impact The 28-year-old Colombian Diaz came on for the second half, set up the penalty which Michael Olise converted for the opening goal, and also had three chances to score himself. "I had some good chances. Unfortunately I couldn't score, but I hope I can score in the next game. My goal is to help the team and win titles," Diaz said. 'I feel very comfortable, I'm happy to be here and to have played my first game. We put in a good performance and were in control of the game." Robbery comparison Diaz had a lot of pace on the left and together with the as lively Olise on the right brought back some momories of Bayern's famous winger duo of Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery. Sporting director Christoph Freund didn't want to get carried away, warning: "Don't believe the hype, don't believe the drama." But he added that "we can expect many scorer points" from Diaz and Olise, who also netted Bayern's second against Lyon. Kane and Kompany impressed Striker Harry Kane was also duly impressed by Diaz, saying: "Luis Díaz did a great job today. We've only had a few training sessions together so far, but he looks hungry and eager. "You can tell he's happy to be here. He plays with a smile on his face. Today you could see how effective he is in the final third and we're going to need him this season, so I'm delighted he's here." Coach Vincent Kompany, who only started pre-season training with the team earlier in the week after a post-Club World Cup holiday, was also satisfied. "Luis Díaz is full of positive energy. We've already seen his qualities and abilities in training. He will help us," Kompany said. Pre-season countdown Bayern kick off the season in a fortnight with the German Super Cup match against domestic cup winners VfB Stuttgart before starting their Bundesliga title defence on August 22 against RB Leipzig. "It's an atypical preseason period – a short holiday, short preparation and then we're right back to it. But we're up for it. We don't have much time. We want to be physically ready for the first games," Kompany said. Freund said that midfielder Joao Palhinha is set to leave Bayern after one year with little playing time, with Tottenham Hotspur the reported destination. He also said that midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic could be back in training in 3-4 weeks from an eye socket fracture. Bayern face Spurs on Thursday and Swiss club Grasshoppers on August 12 in their other pre-season games, and Freund was upbeat overall. "The atmosphere's been good in the first few days. From a mental point of view, the short preparation can also be an advantage and physically it shouldn't be a problem either,' he said.
Yahoo
02-08-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bayern Munich confirm another injury setback for Aleksandar Pavlovic
Bayern Munich confirmed that midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic has undergone eye socket surgery on Saturday. The Bundesliga record champions did not divulge when the 21-year-old incurred the injury or how long precisely Pavlovic will be out. The nature of such an injury nevertheless usually translates to a three-to-four week stint on the sidelines. Pavlovic will probably miss the start of the 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign. The young German-Serbian phenom – capped five times for Germany at senior level despite his age – featured in only 21 of Bayern's 34 league fixtures last season. So many issues plagued the player last year. A broken collarbone, glandular fever, hip problems and tonsillitis prevented Pavlovic from appearing regularly. Pavlovic did appear to finally be on the comeback trail this summer, appearing in all five of Bayern's Club World Cup matches and starting on three occasions. The latest injury setback effectively confirms that longtime teammates/friends Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka will run the midfield in Bayern's opening competitive fixture (the DFL Supercup against VfB Stuttgart) on August 16th. GGFN |
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Joshua Kimmich is making a mistake in not signing Bayern Munich contract
As GGFN reported this week, Bayer Munich has withdrawn its contract offer to Joshua Kimmich after the player stalled in responding. The contract was a slight increase on his current yearly wage and would have seen the German international commit to his future until at least 2028. The Bayern Supervisory Board decided to withdraw the offer, as both Uli Hoeneß and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge wanted immediate clarity on the situation. Advertisement Since withdrawing their offer, Bayern are now exploring potential replacements for Kimmich. Patience Wearing Thin The truth is that Bayern has been more than lenient with Kimmich. They've allowed the player to take his time and even explore other options while maintaining contact with the club. During this time, Bayern was even complimentary about Kimmich. Sporting director Max Eberl explained that Kimmich could if he wanted to, become a modern legend of Bayern – similar to that of Thomas Müller and Manuel Neuer. After many months of back-and-forth and Kimmich being linked with moves to Liverpool, Barcelona, and Real Madrid, it finally looked like Kimmich was ready to put pen to paper. Advertisement Instead, the player stalled once again, which is now the final straw that broke the camel's back. The Bigger Picture Kimmich must look at the bigger picture with this decision. In recent weeks, it's clear that Bayern are building for a successful future. They've recently announced the contract extensions of Jamal Musiala, Alphonso Davies, and Dayot Upamecano while on the cusp of winning a title. Yet, Kimmich is still unsure and doesn't want to commit. At 30, it's understandable before wanting to sign another deal, but it's unclear what he's hoping for. Is he after a big money move to Real? Or perhaps somewhere in the Premier League? It remains to be seen. It feels as if Kimmich has been trying to play both sides without really knowing what a successful outcome for himself looks like. Advertisement Now, it appears that he has bitten off more than he can chew. If he doesn't sign an extension, he could move elsewhere, not be a leading figure in the team, and perhaps not win as many trophies. I believe this is a decision that Kimmich could live to regret. GGFN | Jamie Allen
New York Times
06-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Jamal Musiala's horrific ankle injury: The impact, Bayern Munich's reaction and what happens now
It was one of those stomach-churning moments when, within seconds, you know something has gone badly wrong. Jamal Musiala was writhing in agony, but what really hit hard was the way players on both teams were reacting to the Bayern Munich forward's injury. Paris Saint-Germain defender Willian Pacho knew immediately, holding his head and signalling to the medics on the touchline. His team-mate Marquinhos arrived on the scene quickly, too. Bayern forward Harry Kane was on his knees, checking on Musiala's well-being, as was captain Joshua Kimmich, who took one look at his young team-mate's left leg and turned away in apparent dismay. Advertisement There was also the horrified reaction of Bayern's Canadian full-back Alphonso Davies, who was conducting a live-streaming watchalong on social media while recovering from a serious injury of his own. He tore off his headphones and, like Pacho and Kimmich, held his head in his hands, wide-eyed in a shock. Broadcasters sensibly chose not to replay certain angles of the injury because, as Davies and everyone else knew by now, the images were so graphic. The half-time whistle came moments later and, by this point, it had dawned on PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma that there were serious consequences to his collision with Musiala. Donnarumma fell to his knees, looking devastated as he left the pitch. Musiala was carried off on a stretcher and was soon on his way to an Atlanta hospital, his prospects for the new season in serious doubt before it has even begun. There was no official news from Bayern on Saturday evening. The club did not respond to a story by German newspaper Bild, which suggested that Musiala had broken his left fibula and damaged several ligaments, ruling him out of action for four to five months. After his team's 2-0 defeat in an enthralling, high-quality game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said he had rarely felt so 'angry' as he did at half-time. 'There are many things in life that are much more important than this (football),' he said. 'But for these guys it's their life. Jamal lives for this. 'He came back from a setback and then it happens the way it happens and you feel powerless.' Sitting in that news post-match news conference, that word 'angry' seemed to relate to the cruelness of the situation — a cruel blow to a wonderfully gifted 22-year-old who has only just returned to action after a hamstring injury — rather than the nature of the collision with Donnarumma. Moments earlier Kompany had described it as an 'accident'. Advertisement But others in the Bayern camp were nothing like so forgiving. As Kompany's news conference was taking place, elsewhere in the stadium his goalkeeper and captain Manuel Neuer was blaming his opposite number, Donnarumma. So too was Max Eberl, Bayern's board member for sport. 'It was a situation where you don't have to go in like that,' Neuer told reporters. 'That is taking a risk. He takes the risk of injuring his opponent.' Eberl agreed. 'If I jump on the lower leg with 100 kilos, after a sprint, there's a high risk that something will happen,' he said. 'I don't think he (Donnarumma) did it intentionally, but he also didn't take care.' Neuer also criticised Donnarumma's response to Musiala's injury, saying he felt the Italian international should have shown more compassion. 'I went to him and said, 'Don't you want to go to our player,'' he said. 'It's a matter of respect to go over and wish the guy all the best. He did it afterward. Fairness is always important. I would have reacted differently.' Much of this felt harsh. Donnarumma appeared oblivious at first because, having swept up the ball, he had already got up, turned his back and tried to get on with the game. Upon seeing Musiala in such a difficult state, he looked distraught — so much so that Kane found himself trying to console and reassure the goalkeeper. As he left the pitch at half-time, covering his face, PSG backroom staff escorted him towards the dressing room. After the game, Donnarumma posted on Instagram a picture of himself walking off covering his face at half-time, with PSG backroom staff at his side. With it was a message for Musiala, saying 'all my prayers and well wishes' were with the Bayern youngster. There is a different conversation to be had about the incident — about what happens when a goalkeeper, in this case one who is recorded as standing 6ft 5in tall and weighing just over 14 stone, charges out of his goal and collides with an opposition player just above the ankle. Advertisement Another of the modern game's great goalkeepers, Thibaut Courtois, offered his thoughts after Real Madrid's 3-2 victory over Borussia Dortmund. 'I was watching it with my father and my son and when he (Musiala) fell, I said, 'Oh, that's ugly,'' Courtois said. 'Blaming Donnarumma seems excessive to me, because in the end we goalkeepers go to the ball, like the strikers go — and when we do, the strikers do not measure if their feet reach our face. 'It was very bad luck. It's going to hurt Donnarumma's soul too. If it's your team-mate it hurts more obviously and you're going to criticise (the opponent), but the action is not so avoidable. Donnarumma had to go out there.' It was not straightforward incident. Pacho was the player who was closest to the ball in the PSG penalty area, preparing to shepherd it out of play, but both Musiala and Donnarumma showed more determination to reach it. For Musiala, that meant trying to squeeze through a gap that didn't seem to exist — and certainly not once Pacho had appeared to step across him, the way defenders often do in such situations, and Donnarumma had swooped in a manner that saw him dive across both players. Could it have been a penalty? Possibly. Even if Donnarumma got to the ball fractionally ahead of Musiala, the momentum and force of his challenge led him to wipe out his opponent. Goalkeepers are often given the benefit of the doubt in such situations because of the nature of their role. But in an era when playing the ball first is no longer a defence when it comes to heavy challenges elsewhere on the pitch, there was at very least a debate to be had. Even so, as Courtois suggested, the criticism of Donnarumma seemed out of place. There were numerous heavy challenges in the quarter-final, particularly the one on Leon Goretzka that saw Pacho sent off in the 82nd minute. The suggestion that Donnarumma was 'taking a risk' of injuring Musiala is a reasonable one. But it is a contact sport in which those risks are taken dozens of times in every game. Advertisement Donnarumma should not be the story here. The story is Musiala and an injury that threatens to cast a shadow over a brilliant young career, at very least in the short term. 'It doesn't look good,' Kompany said. 'We hope that everything goes well and that he receives the best possible medical treatment and has the best recovery. But I'm not going to make a diagnosis here.' Even on a day when the Bundesliga champions bowed out of the Club World Cup, having played some excellent football at times, and when Thomas Muller made his 756th and final appearance for the club, the Musiala injury dominated thoughts of all in the Bayern camp. 'You could tell immediately that something very bad had happened,' Muller said. 'It didn't look good. You could see during the first half his intensity, how much he loves playing football. In a situation like this, thoughts should centre around Jamal. And let's be careful that we don't have tasteless conversations after someone has been injured like that.' Bayern will go on without Muller, who has served them with distinction for the past 17 years and is now, at 35, pondering whether to pursue a new challenge in Major League Soccer. There was plenty in Bayern's performance in Atlanta, where they were happy to play the European champions at their own game, to suggest their prospects under Kompany for the coming season are bright. But the Musiala injury will hang over Bayern's players as they fly back to Munich on Sunday. Kompany has given them a three-week break to try to rest and recover before building up to the new Bundesliga campaign, which starts on August 23, but for Musiala a season which promised so much is now one of uncertainty. He will hope to be back on this side of the Atlantic for next summer's World Cup. That is quite the incentive as he embarks on the long road to recovery.
