

Now that he has stopped competing at the highest level, we are all starting to realize just how important Xavi Hernandez's quality was for European football. Many players around the world felt inspired by his capability to lead an offensive block with a passing-based style. In Germany, youngster Joshua Kimmich is considered as one of the most important new talents Germany has. He started playing as a defender, but his versatility has granted him a wide range which has gotten him a protagonist role as a midfielder.
Unsurprisingly, he revealed to have a role model in the Catalan midfielder, he told UEFA that: "Xavi was my role model growing up. He was a very, very good footballer, technically very good, a leader. He can lead a team and he is an absolute team player. He knows exactly how to combine with his team-mates and always puts himself at the service of them. And I also see him as a role model because he did not have the same physical presence as others in terms of size."
Kimmich also talked about the example he has at Bayern: "Philipp Lahm is a role model for me. There are very few players in world football who show the same level of consistency as Philipp. I can't think of three bad performances from him, and that's a quality not many players have. Players are always judged on their bad games, and in Philipp's case there are almost none."
Photo credit: Bayern Munich