In a recent episode of the Einfach mal Luppen podcast, former Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and German national team midfielder Toni Kroos made a remark about how he felt Bayern was far too reliant on Jamal Musiala, especially against the stronger opponents they face. To be exact, he said, “I think it’s extreme how dependent Bayern is on him. Especially against good opponents. You can be dependent on a player. But it’s surprising how dependent they are on Jamal to even create chances.” (via Magenta TV’s Victor Catalina).
His words could easily be taken out of content, but Vincent Kompany offered a reply of his own when he was asked about the claim from Kroos. “Weren’t Real Madrid dependent on [Cristiano] Ronaldo? Weren’t Barcelona dependent on [Lionel] Messi? Jamal has so much quality, so it’s normal that a lot of things are being spoken about him. He’s definitely a special player and of course he’s important for us. But Michael Olise, for example, also has a lot of goals and assists. Of course there aren’t that many players with 15 goals, but the goals were shared between them,” he rationalized to the press (via @iMiaSanMia).
On the surface, Kompany’s retort is entirely valid, given that Kroos played a large portion of his career at Real Madrid, where Ronaldo scored the overwhelming majority of the goals. After he left for Juventus and then for Manchester United and Al-Nassr, Karim Benzema took the reigns of the primary goal scorer for the club, and one could argue that now that reign has been handed over to Vinicius Jr, Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe.
Real Madrid v FC Bayern Muenchen: Semi-final Second Leg - UEFA Champions League 2023/24
It is incredibly difficult to understate Musiala’s value for both Bayern and Germany, but he certainly would not want to take on less responsibility just because a former player feels there is too much reliance on him. He might very well have already tallied a total of 10 goals and 4 assists from 18 appearances across all competitions and he has also scored twice and assist thrice for Germany in UEFA Nations League play from the last set of international breaks, but that is perhaps more of a call for other Bayern players needing to be more productive rather than a question of why the club is so reliant on him.
With having players like Musiala and Harry Kane in the squad, it is always going to be difficult to not give off the perception that there is a bit of a reliance on them with how productive they are in the attacking third. There is reason why the world’s legends are a step above the greats in the game, and from a philosophical standpoint, wouldn’t that always give off at least a slight perception of reliance? Someone needs to stand up and be counted when the chips are stacked against you.
Looking to keep up with everything happening at Bayern munich on — and off — the field? Then check out our Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show on Patreon, Spotify or below:
Be sure to stay tuned to Bavarian Podcast Works for all of your up to date coverage on Bayern Munich and Germany. Check us out on Patreon and follow us on Twitter @BavarianFBWorks, @BavarianPodcast @TheBarrelBlog, @BFWCyler, @IredahlMarcus, @2012nonexistent, @TommyAdams71 and more.