Real Madrid and Germany center-back Antonio Rüdiger is well-acquainted with Bayern Munich’s Jonathan Tah, from Champions League tussles to national team link-ups — where Rüdiger was once top dog in Germany’s back line.
Now, Tah has taken the mantle as the senior starter in central defense, while Rüdiger settles in his role as a veteran backup. It is a role he is accepting graciously.
“He’s the new leader of our defense!” Rüdiger said of Tah (as captured by Sky DE journalist Florian Plettenberg). “The
progress he’s made over the last two or three years commands a lot of respect from me. He’s been outstanding for Bayern.”
Tah was a mainstay at Bayer Leverkusen for ten seasons prior to his move to Bayern last summer — and up until that magical title-winning run under Xabi Alonso in 2023/24, had not always looked like a stalwart for the national team. Nor a candidate to start at Bayern, for that matter. But the 30-year-old has taken charge for both club and country, starting in the national team alongside Rüdiger at EURO 2024 and locking down a position in Vincent Kompany’s XI in Bavaria.
If Germany is to succeed at this year’s World Cup, they will need Tah marshaling a stout defense behind that high-flying, risk-taking attack.
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