Bayern’s Kimmich less emotional but calmer in fan-free games
The changed routines and rhythms around matches have been startling for Joshua Kimmich.
Playing for Bayern Munich in vast, empty stadiums has affected not just the spectacle — or lack of
— but the game itself in the coronavirus era.
“Normally you have more adrenaline and more tension inside your body when you walk in and see the 80,000 fans,” Kimmich said in a video call from Munich. “Nearly everything has changed.”
The silence reminds Kimmich of playing in youth leagues. The supportive screams — and heckles
— from the crowd are absent. The only chants are heard by viewers at home, inserted from the archives over live feeds.
“You have to push yourself, push your teammates, you have to be focused and more concentrated,” Kimmich said. “Normally when there are fans you are focused just because of that, because you know when you’re going to make a mistake, everybody is like, ‘Whoa,’ you feel this mistake more. Also, you feel more if you score a goal. It’s more emotional when there are fans.”
That isn’t always beneficial for match officials.
“I can feel that I am less emotional when I speak to the referee,” Kimmich said. “When they are loud and they are screaming you get pushed and you are more emotional and maybe you speak in another way with the referee.
“Now you can be more quiet and calm and speak in a normal way with the referee and you don’t have to shout at him and he doesn’t have to shout back.”
Communication within the team has also improved since the Bundesliga resumed last month with pandemic safety precautions preventing fans from attending.
“The stadium is always full at Bayern and it’s really amazing,” Kimmich said. “This is maybe what I miss the most but the positive thing is you can speak to everybody and maybe the focus is more on the game. It’s not like a show. Also, there is no more big show from the players any more – lying on the ground and screaming. It’s more focused on the game.”
The pick of the goals since the restart came from the boot of Kimmich, a chip from outside the penalty area — away at Borussia Dortmund. It sealed the win in Bayern’s biggest away game of the season.
“Especially against Dortmund, there is always a great atmosphere,” Kimmich said. “(No crowds mean) it’s more a disadvantage for the home team than for us.”
Winning on the road is nothing unusual for the defending champions. They won five in a row, stretching into December, before the league was paused. Since the restart, Bayern has won all four games — half away — to move seven points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.
For some teams losing home advantage is more unexpected, when it isn’t a powerhouse like Bayern visiting.
Only 22% of games -- eight -have been won at home since the resumption, a slump from 40% before the coronavirus-enforced break.
German teams with a reputation for passionate home fans are struggling more than most. Cologne and Union Berlin, who have modest budgets but a reputation for overwhelming visiting opponents in a cauldron of noise, are four games without a win.
Kimmich has already played four times in two weeks, an overall concern by the international players’ union FIFPRO about the increased risk of injuries. FIFPRO warned the burden on players’ bodies to complete the season is intense.
Kimmich said he’s holding up, so far.
“(The restart) was OK for us, because it was like a third preseason,” he said.
“We worked a lot, first at home with the cyber-training and after in smaller groups, then with the whole team. Now we have the benefit of it. The games were really good for us, I think we played good, we had good results, and also the physical factor is really important for us.”
But there has been a higher rate of injuries across the Bundesliga compared to earlier in the season, although many have been relatively light cases of muscle strains or bruising, rather than anything requiring months of treatment.