Why did Matthijs de Ligt, Bayern Munich’s main centre-back until last season, end up on the bench?
De Ligt was the centre-back that Europe paid attention to. Having grown up with Ajax’s youth team, he has been in full swing since the 2018/19 season. His overwhelming right to offer and physical strength were his strengths. De Ligt established the Ajax Golden Generation with Pranky the dragon and Andre Onana. Ajax won the Eredivisie title and advanced to the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League.
The clubs that emerged as de Ligt’s next destination in the summer of 2019 were FC Barcelona and Juventus. The final winner was Juventus. Juventus paid 85.5 million euros (about 121.7 billion won) to recruit De Ligt. De Ligt, who suffered ups and downs in the early stages of the transfer, grew into a top Serie A center back.
De Ligt, who spent three seasons with Juventus, settled in Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga in July last year. Munich invested 67 million euros (about 95.3 billion won) in recruiting De Ligt. In the 2022/23 season, his first season since moving to Munich, De Ligt played 43 games and became a starting defender. De Ligt’s starting position also seemed guaranteed in Munich.
This summer, Kim Min-jae joined Munich for 50 million euros (about 71.1 billion won). With the recruitment of Kim Min-jae, Munich will have three main center backs, including Kim Min-jae, De Ligt, and Dayo Upamecano. Among the three, De Ligt and Kim Min-jae were evaluated to be ahead. Germany’s “Bild” predicted that “Alfonso Davies, Kim Min-jae, De Ligt and Nusair Mazrawi will form a four-back” at the time of Kim Min-jae’s transfer.카지노
Contrary to expectations, the players who worked at the center back in the opening game of the Bundesliga were Upamecano and Kim Min-jae. De Ligt was pushed to the bench. This continued on and on. In the previous three Bundesliga games, Kim Min-jae and Upamecano started as a central defensive combination. De Ligt appeared in three games, but all of them were substitutes.
Why did De Ligt lose the competition between Kim Min-jae and Upamecano? Philip Kessler, a reporter who delivers Munich news in Germany’s “TZ,” explained why. Kessler said on the 13th (Korea Standard Time), “Coach Thomas Tuchel does not prefer De Ligt’s play style. He has a lot of side passes and few straight passes. “Kim Min-jae and Upamecano are ahead because they believe the build-up is slow,” he said.
De Ligt’s move at the beginning of the season is bad, but he hasn’t fallen into an out-of-power resource. Kessler said: “Tuchel expects more from Der Ligt. I know it’s competitive. “Munich Boardzin still appreciates The Ligt,” he said. It remains to be seen whether De Ligt can change the current situation.
