Advancement crucial for season rating
The second leg in Munich is scheduled for Tuesday (March 8th, 2022). It is perhaps the most important game of the season for Bayern: a loss against Salzburg would put a damper on Julian Nagelsmann’s debut year as Bayern head coach. “If it doesn’t end well, then it’s not a special season”underlined Nagelsmann at the press conference before the duel Self-image of the record champion.
Thomas Müller (32) spoke about Adeyemi (20) and praised it “enormous speed“ – it wasn’t a surprise. In fact, Adeyemi is fast, too fast for many defenders. When Adeyemi starts, and he often does, he is sure to draw the attention of the Salzburg supporters. In Salzburg, they like to tell how Adeyemi once sprinted over 30 meters and someone took the time. In the end he was faster than Usain Bolt, at least that’s how the story goes.
A sprinter who can also kick
It also has to do with this speed that Adeyemi is often reported on at the moment. Of course, sooner or later it’s always about when he will leave Salzurg and whether he will then move to Dortmund or not. And it’s about statistics, because Adeyemi’s are impressive: he has played 33 competitive games for RB Salzburg this season, scored 19 goals and prepared four.
The speed in football is certainly an important criterion, but if you can’t kick, even the most unlikely 30-meter times are of no use to you. Adeyemi can kick, you’ve seen it many times. When he scored his first goal for the German national team in September, he initiated it himself with a back-heel pass. The goal wasn’t an important one, but it will be remembered.
Adeyemi and the sense of playing with the pace
But the story about the sprinting footballer Adeyemi is a bit more complex. What sets him apart from many other fast footballers is his sense of space and time, but above all his sense of how to play with the pace. Adeyemi likes to dodge on the wings, he is not an attacker who is only in the penalty area. And he’s very adept at varying the tempo.
He often sprints towards an opponent at high speed, only to slow down, switch the ball from one foot to the other and then speed up again. It’s like a stress test for defences. In the Champions League Adeyemi has not only scored three goals and two assists, but also won four penalties in seven games this season.
Once when Salzburg in the preliminary round against FC Seville played, a side whose defense isn’t all that bad, Adeyemi could only be stopped three times in 35 minutes by a foul in the penalty area.
A player for the imagination
Adeyemi is an exciting player, he brings a lot with him that they like to see in football today. But there are still weaknesses: His first contact sometimes fails, he loses the ball too often and rarely wins duels, and he can also improve on scoring goals. He also misses too many big chances.
Matthias Jaissle (33) is the coach of Salzburg, and he is also often reported on. He is considered a figure of success that Adeyemi also makes possible with his goals. Jaissle once said of Adeyemi: “Karim is still young but he is willing to constantly improve. He is inquisitive. These are good prerequisites for his journey to continue.”
Adeyemi is a player for the imagination, you can watch him play football today and think about tomorrow’s successes. It’s no surprise that some decision-makers in the Bundesliga seem to have the fantasy that Karim Adeyemi’s journey is far from over. The Bavarians and also the BVB should be very interested in a commitment.
Schwabl on Adeyemi: “The heart is in the right place”
Adeyemi and Bayern, that would be a special combination. As a very young youth player, he played for the club before, he was considered a great talent, but the discipline wasn’t really his thing. What exactly led to Bayern sending Adeyemi away at the time will no longer be known to the public. But one can assume that those responsible may have briefly regretted this decision.
About his youth club TSV Forstenried Munich, Adeyemi eventually joined the Unterhaching game association, where they are good with talent. The president is Manfred Schwabl, a former professional, even a national player. Schwabl once told how he spoke to Adeyemi, how he was only allowed to train if things went well at school – and how things went at school.
Adeyemi was 16 when RB Salzburg signed him, and the clammy Unterhaching game association is still living on the transfer fee of allegedly three million euros. Schwabl was recently asked about Adeyemi again, he gave an interview to the broadcaster “DAZN”. Schwabl said Adeyemi was a “Bazi”a rascal, it almost sounded like a compliment: “He’s a sly old dog, but his heart is in the right place.”
Adeyemi on Haaland’s footsteps
It is not unthinkable that Adeyemi will end up at BVB at some point, possibly in the summer. In Dortmund they have brought in a striker from Salzburg and had good experiences with it: Erling Haaland (21) came two years ago, now they would prefer not to let him go at all. But nothing will come of it.
Of course, Adeyemi is a different type of player than Haaland, not so strong in the air and not so ripped off in the end. But they will hardly find an equivalent replacement for the Norwegian at BVB anyway, so why not Adeyemi?
A few days ago Adeyemi was asked about his future, it happens to him more often. He said: “My focus is in Salzburg. Nothing is clear. What happens in summer happens in summer.”
Source: tbe