At FC Bayern Munich, Jamal Musiala and Michael Olise write the headlines. But Konrad Laimer is an “Unsung Hero”. A comment.
By Justin Kraft
Thomas Müller spoke about the “offensives” and the “magicians” after FC Bayern’s 5-1 win against Shakhtar Donetsk. By Jamal Musiala, by Michael Olise. These are also the names that determine the reporting.
Rightly so. Impressions are formed by those who create magic on offense, who score the goals. But successful teams can only work this magic if there are workers on the team who do the jobs and the dirty work for which there are no awards at the end and rarely any special praise.
But Konrad Laimer has long since earned such special praise. The kilometers that the Austrian collects should be enough for at least one or two free beers at FC Bayern’s Christmas party. Against Donetsk, too, he initially ran up and down on the right defensive side with an incredible amount of work.
Laimer won duels at the front, he won defensive duels and sometimes he even dribbled forward powerfully but effectively. Although these dribbles were more reminiscent of a wrecking ball than magic, they did bring relief.
His goal to make it 1-1 gave Munich a quick response to their early setback; his tireless sprints opened up space for teammates. Laimer repeatedly appeared on the right near the penalty area, only to be back in position on counterattacks.
Konrad Laimer: Not world class, but…
You don’t have to stylize him as a world-class player to appreciate his importance for FC Bayern. He is simply a very good footballer who suits the squad of a top club very well. The 27-year-old was one of the inconspicuous surprises in the record champions’ squad last season, playing 2,713 competitive minutes.
Laimer is there when he is needed. In midfield, right back or, as in the final phase against Donetsk, sometimes left back – he can play in all of these positions without much loss of quality. That makes him a kind of modern Rafinha in Munich: Bayern know exactly what they will get from him in every game.
These are certainly not world-class achievements, special feats or a particularly high technical level. But it is consistency at a still very good level. It is the unconditional work that Laimer puts into every game. A running and energetic performance that allows him to stretch upwards and almost always help the team.
Laimer is worth his weight in gold for Kompany and Bayern
His game is not flawless, as we saw in Dortmund when he didn’t look good in the 0-1 loss against Jamie Gittens. And Laimer also had his share in the early deficit against Donetsk due to a positional error.
But if you look at the entire season, he is again worth his weight in gold for the Bayern squad under Vincent Kompany. Especially in a phase of the season like the current one, where Munich are missing nine players in a Champions League game, they need guys like Laimer who don’t care where they play and who can carry out the coach’s instructions like a machine.
How many top clubs would like a Laimer? In the average transfer summer there will only be a few. At least Manchester United is said to be interested in Laimer. But who else?
As the season progresses, however, when you notice that the stars’ legs are getting heavier and one or two players are unavailable, there will probably be one or two envious glances towards Munich.
The “offensives” and the “magicians” write the headlines. But it is players like Laimer who are an important glue for the squad.
