Joshua Kimmich is expected to play a central role on the German national team under Jürgen Klopp. Former national team player Max Kruse, however, does not consider him a true leader.
Joshua Kimmich remains one of the most important figures on the German national team, even under Jürgen Klopp. For Max Kruse, however, the 31-year-old—despite his prominent role—is not the leader the German national team needs.
On the “Beidfüßig” podcast hosted by the “Wettbasis” portal, Kruse expressed clear doubts about Kimmich’s qualities as a leader. This comes against the backdrop of a discussion about a lack of leadership figures in German soccer, a topic recently raised by, among others, former DFB director Oliver Bierhoff.
Kruse also sees this problem in Klopp’s XXL squad of 44 players. The former national team player feels there’s a lack of players with rough edges. In his view, the team is too homogeneous, “because everything has been smoothed out.”
The 38-year-old also explicitly singled out Kimmich: “For me, even Joshua Kimmich—despite wearing the captain’s armband at Bayern—is not a leader on the field.”
Kruse doubts Kimmich’s leadership qualities
For Kruse, it’s not enough to simply wear the captain’s armband or lead the way on the field with great aggressiveness. “Leadership isn’t just about the captain’s armband and tough tackles—leadership is so much more than that. To me, Kimmich isn’t the right person for that,” the former Bundesliga pro clarified.
Klopp seems to view the Bayern star’s role quite differently. The new national team coach is counting on Kimmich as an experienced leader as he begins his tenure. When announcing his first roster, the 59-year-old emphasized that a player with Kimmich’s experience and age must take the lead within the newly formed team.
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Klopp has also made a clear decision on the field. After Kimmich was deployed as a right back during the World Cup, he is set to return to the position where he is a regular starter for FC Bayern under Vincent Kompany.
“We see him as a midfielder,” Klopp clarified. “We haven’t had a single conversation in which we discussed him as a right back.”
This means Kimmich will once again direct the DFB’s play from the center of the field. At the same time, Klopp is demanding more determination from his captain and the rest of the national team players, especially when defending.
“Stability comes only from the defense—how we work defensively—and I need every single player for that. The key now is for us to commit to that. That applies to Jo just as much as it does to everyone else,” Klopp emphasized.
While Kruse disputes Kimmich’s suitability as a true leader, Klopp thus continues to count on the Bayern Munich pro as one of the central figures in the DFB’s fresh start.