Bundesliga
Xavi: "Kimmich's one of the best in the world"
Barcelona and Spain legend Xavi Hernandez has admitted to being a fully paid-up member of the Joshua Kimmich fan club – and that he has been an admirer of the Bayern Munich star for some time.
The 38-year-old, who now plays for Qatari side Al Sadd, met up with Kimmich during Bayern's winter training camp in Doha for an interview with German newspaper Bild, and revealed it was former Bayern and Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola who piqued his interest in the Germany international.
"I spoke to Pep Guardiola, my ex-coach from Barcelona, about [Kimmich]," Xavi said. "Pep said: 'I have a player in my team who can truly play in any position'. I asked, 'Who is the boy?' He said he was talking about someone called 'Kimmich', who I had honestly never heard of before.
Watch: Kimmich's best goals and assists
"Since speaking to Pep that day I've been following your career," Xavi continued, addressing Kimmich directly. "After all, Pep doesn't just say things like that. When I saw you play I knew right away that you could become a great player. And today you are."
Praise indeed. Kimmich, now in his fourth season at Bayern after joining from RB Leipzig in summer 2015, originally made the breakthrough at the Allianz Arena as a makeshift centre-back under Guardiola and has since gone on to feature at right-back and in centre midfield for both club and country.
Such versatility has impressed Xavi, who revealed that Kimmich is hoping to make the move into central midfield a more permanent one: "I thought before I met Joshua that he wanted to be a defender. But he's already told me that he has another big wish. Joshua can play perfectly in midfield as number six.
Asked whether Kimmich has what it takes to become the 'new Xavi', who came to exemplify that midfield role en route to winning four UEFA Champions League titles and the FIFA World Cup between 2005 and 2015, he was unequivocal in his response:
"Definitely. He can make the difference. He can be one of the best players in world football in several positions, maybe he already is. That distinguishes him from me: I could play in one position, he's versatile."