Midfielder João Palhinha moved from FC Fulham to Bayern at the second attempt in the summer for around 50 million euros.
Photo: imago/Ulmer
The spectacle was a good four years ago now. But now it is present again because FC Bayern is playing against FC Barcelona again. The encounter on matchday three of the Champions League also brings back memories for Hansi Flick and Robert Lewandowski. Because on August 14, 2020, the FC Barcelona coach and striker were still on FC Bayern’s side when the Munich team swept Barça 8-2 in the quarter-finals on their way to the title. With a total of six titles, Flick and Lewandowski secured a prominent place in the club’s chronicle with the most successful year in Bayern’s history.
When they meet again this Wednesday evening in Barcelona’s Olympic Stadium with numerous former colleagues from Manuel Neuer to Joshua Kimmich to Thomas Müller, Flick and Lewandowski will attract a lot of attention. But when the ball rolls from 9 p.m., many pairs of eyes will also be on the man who, from Munich’s perspective, should make a significant contribution to ensuring that Flick’s impressive offensive around Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha is not successful.
On Saturday in the 4-0 win against VfB Stuttgart, João Palhinha was already in focus after he had to come on early to replace Aleksandar Pavlović after he broke his collarbone. But the Portuguese wasn’t really challenged by Stuttgart, just as he wasn’t challenged by Holstein Kiel in Bayern’s 6-1 win on matchday three, when he was allowed to start for the first and only time so far.
That is of course not enough for a player who moved from FC Fulham to Munich in the summer for around 50 million euros on his second attempt. But Palhinha has been patiently waiting for his chance. Now she is here. Because midfield talent Pavlović will be missing for months, Palhinha will likely be in regular demand as Kimmich’s co-pilot in defensive midfield. In his second appearance in the starting eleven, he will be really challenged for the first time by Barcelona’s offensive, which has already produced 39 goals in twelve competitive games this season.
Palhinha received a lot of praise after his courageous performance against Stuttgart. His performance was “fantastic,” said Harry Kane. “We changed and stayed strong or even got stronger,” said coach Vincent Kompany. Palhinha “did a great job,” praised Kimmich, pointing to his colleague’s good positional play in defense, some “very good ball wins,” but also his ball security. With the best passing rate (96 percent), Palhinha was even better than the average Bundesliga professional Pavlović (94.3). However, Palhinha mostly played low-risk balls.
Palhinha was particularly pleased last Saturday with a successful tackle against Jamie Leweling on the sideline, with which he prevented a counterattack. Palhinha clenched his fist and quickly ran back to his six-man position so that he could immediately intervene again if anyone dared to invade his territory. The scene made clear the spirit with which Palhinha operates.
The 29-year-old João Maria Lobo Alves Palhinha Gonçalves, with the name like a six-man chain, primarily knows how to play against the ball. As a man for the rough, he is the new antipode in the Munich game. As a fighter among artists, he has different advantages than Pavlović. “Aleks is someone who wants the ball a lot, who wants to play a lot, who wants to have a lot of ball contact, who loves to shape the game,” said Kimmich. “João is someone who can sometimes drive in against the ball, who can also play very physically.” Kimmich did not want to predict to what extent Bayern’s game would change with Palhinha.
His new 1.90 meter tall man next to him knew immediately that Pavlović’s injury represented “a great opportunity” for him, as he said openly before sending his colleague good wishes for a quick recovery. Now Palhinha wants to provide further proof of his primarily defensive qualities in Barcelona.
What Palhinha doesn’t want is the comparison with former Bayern professional Javi Martínez. This comparison was made more than ten years ago when Palhinha played for a Portuguese youth team against the USA and the opposing coach said to him afterwards: “You are the next Javi Martínez.” He found that flattering, but he copied it Palhinha recently said in “Bayernmagazin” that he didn’t want anyone, not even a Munich legend. But it is true that he also sees it as his job to “ensure the necessary balance,” for example when counterattacking. But: “He’s Javi, I’m João.”