Joshua Kimmich: 'Playing Barça is always special'

As is the norm a day before a Champions League game, the opposing coach and a player attend a pre-match press conference. This time it was Vincent Kompany and midfielder Joshua Kimmich who spoke with the media in the run up to the big match at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on Wednesday, when Barça and Bayern Munich meet to fulfil the matchday three fixture of European football's premier club competition. Kompany praised Barça by stating "we are coming up against one of the strongest teams in Europe".

Kompany and the value of La Masia 

The Belgian coach also showed his respect for the blaugranes' La Masia and the young talent it produces. He specifically mentioned Pau Cubarsí and Lamine Yamal. Kompany considers that the young blaugrana central defender "will be one of world football's defensive leaders". Moving onto Lamine Yamal, he highlighted his quality, stating that "it's amazing that Barça can have someone like Lamine coming along not long after Messi left".

Speaking about his squad, he would have liked midfielder Pavlović to be available, but he trusts all his players. Otherwise he mentioned that Musiala is a doubt for the game and that it is “a very risky situation”. Lastly, he showed his intention to adapt his playing style to a Barça he believes "will play as they have done in recent games".

Kimmich on meeting up with Flick again

Joshua Kimmich stated that "playing Barça is always special because it is a very important club, with a tradition of being very successful". It's worth remembering that Hansi Flick was Kimmich's coach both at Bayern Munich and with the German national team. As such, he went on to say that "it's good to meet up with Hansi again". He also reminded that the German coach joined Bayern at a difficult time, stating that "Flick restored our confidence and firmly believed in us when everyone else was doubting us".

Lastly, the midfielder showed his esteem for blaugrana legends Pep Guardiola and Xavi Hernández. About the latter he said that "he was my idol when I was little". A technical hitch then brought the press conference to a premature end, and all that remains is the titanic duel at Montjuïc on Wednesday, kick-off 9pm CEST.