Leon Goretzka confirmed his summer departure from Bayern Munich in late January following 8 years at the club and much speculation about his future. Immediately following this announcement, Bayern’s No. 8 was benched for four straight games, only coming on for the final 10 minutes. Unsurprisingly, this sharpened the focus on the Germany international.
Given a chance to start again in the Bundesliga against Werder Bremen, he put in a good performance and scored a goal as Bayern came out 3-0 victors.
Afterwards, head coach Vincent Kompany talked about the first time the two of them spoke and how Goretzka has bounced back from that.
“Leon has trained very well. I’m not demanding anything special from Leon, just to do what he’s always done. He brought that to the pitch today, not less and not more,” Kompany specified, as captured by @iMiaSanMia. “We’ve always had confidence in him. I always want to go back to the start with Leon. My first conversation with him was that the club decided that he should take another step [leave the club]. That was 18 months ago. We’ve always been respectful to each other. The transfer window had closed and nothing happened. We said okay now everything is back to zero. He had an important role last season and this season too. He also was important in the dressing room. What he showed today is exactly how he is in training. If the other [midfielders] perform well, it doesn’t mean he isn’t.”
Whether or not one believes Bayern were correct to let Goretzka leave, one cannot deny he has had an admirably professional attitude off the pitch that has remained firm even in difficult circumstances. It is good that Goretzka will get a huge send off at the end of the season rather than being pushed quietly out the door.
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…
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
- New, improved notifications system!
- Fewer ads
- Create community posts
- Comment on articles, community posts
- Rec comments, community posts
