Joshua Kimmich's "Helper Syndrome": Criticism from Marcel Reif
Former TV commentator Marcel Reif accused FC Bayern Munich star and DFB captain Joshua Kimmich of suffering from a "helper syndrome."
The 76-year-old shared this opinion with the Bild newspaper. The comments followed Kimmich's performances in the Nations League matches against the Netherlands and Greece, as well as Germany's 2-0 victory over Serbia on Thursday, a game Kimmich missed.
"He's someone with this helper syndrome. On and off the pitch," Reif stated about Kimmich. He added, "There were times when he ran around like a whirlwind – everywhere, because he wanted to solve everything, which wasn't really helpful for Bayern or the national team." Reif made it clear he intended this as a critique.
Following a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands and a 0-1 loss to Greece, new national coach Jürgen Klopp opted to bench Kimmich for the Serbia match. Aleksandar Pavlovic and Tom Bischof took his place in the defensive midfield role. Kimmich himself had repeatedly asked Klopp to play, as the coach confirmed before the Serbia game, but Klopp stuck to his decision.
Why did Jürgen Klopp not play Kimmich?
The coach aimed to test the team's performance in the potential absence of a key player like Kimmich. "Football needs to remain consistent. Lineups can't, mainly because players get injured," Klopp explained after the Serbia match.
Kimmich, 31, took over the DFB team captaincy from Ilkay Gündogan in 2024. The midfielder debuted for the German senior national team in May 2016 and has since played 116 international matches, scoring 10 goals.
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