Bad last impression
Zirkzee wants to be “an important player at Bayern”.
2/22/2022, 7:33 p.m
Joshua Zirkzee leaves FC Bayern shortly before the start of the season and leaves a bad last impression. At his loan station in Belgium, however, the young striker is convincing. And has not yet finished with a future at FC Bayern.
The Dutch centre-forward Joshua Zirkzee from the Belgian soccer record champions RSC Anderlecht still believes in making the breakthrough at Bayern Munich. “I still hope that one day I’ll become an important Bayern player,” said the 20-year-old, who was loaned from FC Bayern to the Belgian capital club, in an interview with Spox and Goal.
“After the season I will return to Bayern. Where I will play afterwards depends on the prospects of match practice, because that is the most important thing for me,” said the attacker, who scored 12 goals in 26 top division games for Anderlecht. His contract in Munich ends on June 30, 2023.
“It was difficult for me”
There had been criticism at Bayern of the training performance of the young striker. “I had a difficult period,” said Zirkzee, “it’s hard to show yourself if you’re not a real part of the team.” However, it is not true that he gave less than 100 percent in training, but he conceded: “I went home sadder than normal? Definitely. I was hoping to be able to play more. Then I have within a short time Played even less time. That was difficult for me.” The then coach Hansi Flick told his striker: “Talent alone is not enough!”
It had started so promisingly: In December 2019, the then 18-year-old scored his first goal in his first Bundesliga game in a 3-1 win at SC Freiburg, followed by the second three days later against VfL Wolfsburg. “Only football writes such stories,” said Thomas Müller at the time about Edeljoker Zirkzee. “We are very grateful that the boy comes in and scores straight away. We definitely needed him today and on Wednesday in Freiburg.” Zirkzee was unable to take the next step with the record champions: Two more Bundesliga goals followed in the 2019/20 season, but he played no significant role in the following season.
“shouldn’t have happened”
At the beginning of February 2021, Zirkzee was on loan at Parma Calcio for almost five months, after a two-month stopover he has been playing for Anderlecht since August 2021. In Munich, the last impression of Zirkzee was very negative: In preparation with the Munich team, Zirkzee had casually missed a big chance in a friendly against Ajax Amsterdam and was then confronted with heavy criticism.
“Personally, I couldn’t have cared less about the criticism,” he said in retrospect. “Of course it was stupid that I missed this chance. A lot of people hyped it up afterwards, but I didn’t care. I was in good shape and wanted to continue it,” explained the offensive player. Yes, “at that moment I should have been more professional. It shouldn’t have happened to me, but it happened: So what?”
Coach Julian Nagelsmann left it at that time with a public rebuke – and an urgent warning. “I think that in a competitive game – or I hope so – he has a different seriousness in this situation,” said Nagelsmann after the 2-2 win in his home debut as Bayern coach. But the four Bundesliga goals that Zirkzee had scored as a teenager in the 2019/20 season could not be followed by any more for the time being: A few days after the great opportunity was missed, FC Bayern sent his talent to Belgium.
There it goes for Zirkzee. Twelve goals means ninth place in the top scorer list, no player on loan from a Bundesliga club has scored more often. “I enjoy the environment at Anderlecht. The people around me give me a lot of self-confidence, the coaching team and also my teammates. That is the basic requirement for good performances,” he told Spox. His coach, ex-ManCity star Vincent Kompany, actually thinks Zirkzee is too good for the Belgian league, as the 89-time Belgian international “Het Laatste Nieuws” revealed in the fall. Now it will soon be decided whether he will get another chance at Bayern to reverse the bad last impression.