In his first two seasons at Bayern Munich, a young Joshua Kimmich struggled to find consistent minutes under legendary coaches, Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti. By his fourth season, Kimmich played every Bundesliga minute while dropping double digit assists.
After starting 30 matches for Hoffenheim as a teenager, Tom Bischof’s first season at Bayern mirrored that of Kimmich. Bischof discovered that his only path to the pitch was as an outside-back due to the injury situations for Alphonso Davies,
Hiroki Itō, and Konrad Laimer.
Most young players would scoff at the limited opportunities but Bischof embraced the learning experience. In an interview with Sky Sport (via @iMiaSanMia), Bischof discussed the adversity he dealt with.
“At the beginning, I had a little trouble accepting it,” said Bischof. “Especially in the first one or two games, then I had a few conversations with Joshua Kimmich, for example, who told me that I would get my chance. It paid off, and I’m simply happy that I was able to help out on the left and help the team.”
Despite the early struggles, Bischof has no regrets on his free transfer from his comfortable roster spot at Hoffenheim.
“If I had known it would go like this, I’d have taken it immediately. I’m very satisfied because I’ve simply learned a lot. I’ve become more versatile. I never would have imagined that I’d be playing left or right back. Last season it was right wing, which I also couldn’t have imagined either. And I think I was able to help the team a lot with that.”
Finally, Bischof added that he has “always wanted to play in the Champions League , it’s such a childhood dream. This was extremely important to me, then of course the titles, I hope there’ll be another one this weekend. It was also very important to me to score a goal at home, to finally get that feeling. I think you could tell, I kind of lost it. But I just had to let it all out. And simply growing into the team has been extremely good and helped me develop further. I think I’ve made good progress. That’s why I’m actually very satisfied.”
Bischof’s maturity has garnered support from the Bayern faithful as a future team captain for both club and country. The departures of Leon Goretzka and Raphaël Guerreiro should permit more midfield minutes for Bischof around an aging Kimmich and a promising Aleksandar Pavlović.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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