BFW Commentary: Why can’t people just leave Bayern Munich’s Niklas Süle be?

We touched on this earlier today, but the media has once again made the weight of Bayern Munich’s Niklas Süle an issue. This time, it was insinuated that Süle’s fitness could be a potential reason his status with the German national team is in doubt.

Our response: Get over it.

We have often seen these stories, scoffed at them, and joked about the insinuation that Süle is somehow always teetering with subpar fitness levels. I’ll be very clear...when we see these stories, we think it is hilarious.

We’ve covered these sarcastically for more than a year now and are often amazed at how quickly those in the media want to paint Süle as the role model for the chonky boys everywhere.

You’d think Süle is a late-career Bartolo Colon given how often his weight comes up in the German media.

And sure, we admit, there probably are times that Süle has carried some extra weight. He allegedly has a fondness for kebabs, but it seems that whenever anyone wants to rip a few headlines off, Süle’s weight once again becomes an issue.

Here are the facts: Süle is a big man with a naturally big frame. He is going to weigh more than the average footballing bloke. Given his stature, Süle might also be a player whose weight could naturally increase the second he is out of the normal every day grind that players deal with.

Still, there have certainly been reasons to for people to criticize Süle this season, just not for his alleged girth. His play has not always been consistent, but his weight is not the issue, despite what Tz states:

In the past, the 25-year-old was repeatedly criticized for weight problems. The kicker even writes about the fact that Süle “weighs in at times over 100 kilos.” Löw says: “I don’t know exactly how many kilos he has at the moment. I do not reduce his assessment to that either. He knows my general requirements.”

If there is any reason to have any concern about Süle, it is because he is still battling with the mental and physical effects of knee surgery from last season. It could be easily said that the ups-and-downs of dealing with the after-effects of that injury should be the only concern that anyone should have.

The re-boot of Süle’s alleged weight issues also comes at a time where the big man is playing out of position at right-back and has been pretty darn good in doing so. Süle has shown the requisite speed and quickness required to man the defensive flank, while also flashing his foot-skills and creativity. In fact, Süle has strung together consecutive excellent performances and could be headed back to reaching his potential.

Despite the uneven showings Süle had earlier in the season, there is far more reason to attribute his inconsistency to his ongoing battle to “feel healthy” and regain full confidence in his knee, rather than to think he’s scarfing down fistfuls of apple strudel as his postgame refueling regimen.

Süle is strongly on his journey back to being 100%, but the narrative about his weight has grown to be a tiresome trope for some in the media.

And great...with the references to kebabs and apple strudel, now I’m in the mood for lunch. Hopefully I can work off any extra calories before my required BFW weigh-in later today.