This is being written in the aftermath of Germany’s loss to North Macedonia, so forgive me if it’s a little bit incoherent. As a fan of Bayern Munich and Germany, it’s actually hard to believe what’s going on with the national team at the moment.
Of course, that’s a wide-ranging topic, so let’s home in on one single aspect of this trash heap. With each passing game, it’s becoming clear that Timo Werner is NOT the striker Chelsea were promised when they bought him from RB Leipzig. Back when that transfer went through, some Bayern fans were upset that the board effectively let him get away.
Now though, I think we can start to see the reasoning behind the madness.
TIMO WERNER, HOW DID YOU MISS?! pic.twitter.com/ACDf2yw26z
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 31, 2021
Yes, Timo Werner really did just miss from there. The crazy thing is, if you showed that clip to a Premier League fan, they could probably point out another half-dozen huge misses Werner’s had over the season. Since moving to Chelsea, the 25-year-old has missed some insane chances — just look at these comments on r/soccer from his unbelievable miss against Leeds United.
Brazzo did warn us about this. Back in the day, he told us that Bayern Munich didn’t want Werner, saying: “With his pace, Timo Werner needs more space, just like he had in the system that Leipzig played. They may have changed their system, but it’s still not as tight for them offensively as it is for us.” (Sport Bild via BuliNews)
Recently, it’s been reported that even Joachim Low doesn’t rate the former RB Leipzig star, preferring Serge Gnabry up front with Havertz and Sane on the wings. This is pretty easy to believe, given what we’ve seen Werner produce for Germany so far — he’s nowhere near as prolific as he was at club level for RB Leipzig.
This basically exposes the root of the problem. Timo Werner has always been a system player, and the system he functions in exists only at RBL. With Chelsea and Germany, the poor man simply cannot replicate his usual game, which results in these hilarious eye-catching misses that end up trending on Twitter. The misses are just a symptom of a striker completely adrift in a tactical sense — unable to function in a system that doesn’t want him.
With this, it’s becoming clear that Bayern Munich made the RIGHT decision to pass up on Werner last summer. He never fit the system, and he would’ve struggled in Bavaria the same way he’s struggling in England right now. Credit to Brazzo for sticking to his guns, it looks like he got this one spot-on.