🏆 Ballon d'OneFootball: And in 18th place is ... | OneFootball

Welcome to the third annual edition of the Ballon d’OneFootball as we continue our countdown of the top 25 players in the world.

Click right here to see the full list so far.

And today we have …

18th: Joshua Kimmich, Bayern Munich and Germany

(Last year: 5th)

The last 12 months haven’t quite been as kind to Joshua Kimmich as the 12 that preceded them but the German remains one of the world’s leading all-round midfielders.

Still not bad for a player who emerged as a world class right-back.

Playing for Bayern Munich often means achievements are overlooked. The club’s success is only really measured by how well they do in the Champions League. So Kimmich was never going to be as high on this list as he was a year ago after a quarter-final exit in the Champions League and Germany’s disappointing Euro 2020 campaign.

Add to that Kimmich’s own late 2021 absence having decided not to be vaccinated, a choice he has since reversed, and it was a truly testing 12 months.

But all of that difficulty washes away whenever you watch him play football.

Kimmich remains an aggressive defender in midfield, happy to press and harass opponents but also savvy enough to drop off, read the game, and still the ball from under their noses when needed.

That much has been clear for years now but his ability with the ball only ever seems to grow. Treble-winning midfield partner Thiago left for Liverpool in 2020 and Kimmich’s influence on the ball has only grown since then.

And not just in open play, where he has the vision and ability to drive Bayern upfield, but also at dead ball situations. The delivery that made Kimmich such a threat at right-back is now used to make the team a huge threat at free-kicks and corners.

Despite a tricky year for club and country, and on a personal level, Kimmich remains one of the world’s leading midfielders.

He’ll have the Champions League and the World Cup in sight before the end of 2022, righting the wrongs of his last two visits to football’s biggest stages.

Click right here to see the full list so far.