'Aggressive leader' with brains: why Laimer is indispensable for Bayern | OneFootball

Energetic, reliable, versatile – Konrad Laimer has matured from a quiet squad player to an indispensable key performer at FC Bayern. Under Vincent Kompany, the Austrian connects defense and offense like hardly anyone else and has become irreplaceable in the team.

Harry Kane is undoubtedly dominating the headlines at FC Bayern at the moment. But alongside the 32-year-old, there is another indispensable player in Vincent Kompany’s system: Konrad Laimer.

It’s not just the fans who are enthusiastic about the Austrian; Lothar Matthäus also recently made it clear what a role Laimer now plays at the German record champions: “Konrad Laimer is one of the most important players at FC Bayern Munich,” Matthäus recently praised on Sky.

And indeed: The 28-year-old holds the system together, makes his teammates better, and is the invisible engine behind the stars’ brilliance.

Matured into an architect under Kompany

Photo: IMAGO

Since Vincent Kompany took the helm at Säbener Straße, Laimer has found a new role – away from the classic full-back, towards a tactical architect. Whether on the right, left, as a number six, or even in the center – Laimer fulfills every task with the same reliability. He opens up spaces, creates overloads, presses tirelessly, and initiates dangerous attacks through his ball recoveries.

Kompany himself raves: “Konny has been very stable and very flexible for a long time. He solves a lot with his intensity – not only defensively, but also going forward.”

In football terms, his actions are called progressive carries – runs with the ball that drive the game forward. And that’s exactly what Laimer does consistently, reliably, and with impressive physicality.

When Laimer arrived from Leipzig on a free transfer in 2023, he was seen as a solid addition – not a cornerstone. The excitement over transfers like Kane, Guerreiro, or Kim was greater. But two years later, it’s clear: Laimer may have been the most valuable transfer of recent years – at zero cost, but with immeasurable value.

While players like Davies, Guerreiro, or Stanisic regularly struggle with injuries, Laimer is Bayern’s indestructible all-purpose weapon. In two years, he has missed just five matches. “I can adapt well. I feel comfortable in many roles,” he said himself.

Bayern wants to secure Laimer long-term

He describes his self-image with a term once coined by Mark van Bommel: “I am an Aggressive Leader. That’s the way I identify myself.”

With his work ethic, team orientation, and tactical discipline, Laimer is the prototype of a Kompany player. It’s no wonder, then, that sporting director Christoph Freund is already working on extending his contract, which runs until 2027: “We would like to see Konny at FC Bayern for a very, very long time,” Freund said recently.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.