"Has this helper syndrome": criticism of Bayern star Joshua Kimmich

Former TV commentator Marcel Reif has accused Joshua Kimmich, the Bayern Munich star and Germany captain, of suffering from “helper syndrome”.

The 76-year-old spoke to Bild newspaper. He was referring to the midfielder's displays in the Nations League games against the Netherlands and Greece, as well as Germany's 2-0 win over Serbia on Thursday, when Kimmich was absent.

"He is someone who has this helper syndrome. On the pitch and off it as well," said Reif, referring to Kimmich. "There were times when he ran around like a spinning top - everywhere, because he wanted to solve everything, which was not really helpful either at Bayern or in the national team," he added, making it clear that he wanted this to be understood as criticism.

Following the 1-1 draw with the Netherlands and the 0-1 defeat to Greece, new Germany coach Jürgen Klopp left Kimmich out, and in the match against Serbia in the number six role Aleksandar Pavlovic and Tom Bischof replaced him. Kimmich himself had asked Klopp "one, two, three, five, ten times" to be allowed to play, as the coach confirmed before the Nations League clash, but Klopp stuck to his decision.

Why did Jürgen Klopp not let Kimmich play?

Klopp wanted to test how the team would perform if an important player like Kimmich were missing for once. "The football must remain constant. The line-up cannot, mainly because players get injured," he explained after the Serbia match.

Kimmich, 31, took over the captain's armband for the DFB team from Ilkay Gündogan in 2024. The midfielder made his senior Germany debut in May 2016 and has since won 116 caps (10 goals).