Germany Celebrates Its New Philipp Lahm

Facts couldn't have been more convincing: 87.5 percent of his passes in Germany's last group match against Norther Ireland found their man, he won nearly 60 percent of his man-on-man duels, touched the ball 104 ball times and he ruled the right flank. We are talking about a young man 21-years of age and the possible long-term solution for German head coach Joachim Loew's search for solution to his right back problem. Kimmich could well help Germany win Euro 2016. The next challenge for the intelligent midfielder could be Germany's first knock-out game at Euro 2016 against Slovakia in Lille this coming Sunday.

German media and fans are celebrating Joshua Kimmich's performance when winning only his second cap. Hermann Gerland, recently appointed by Bayern Munich coach Carlo Ancelotti as his future assistant at the 2016 German champion, expressed what most pundits in Germany and in the rest of football Europe are thinking: "Joshua Kimmich will be ready to step into Philipp Lahm' s shoes at right back. When Lahm retires in about two years, we don't have to worry," Gerland said. "But of course Joshua Kimmich at the moment can't be at the same level as a Philipp Lahm. But he has all the abilities needed to have a great future."

For Joachim Loew, Joshua Kimmich's star already seems to have risen. Despite the fact that Northern Ireland is not regarded as one of the big guns of Europe's football, the youngster is on his way to solving all the problems Germany has suffered ever since Philipp Lahm stepped down from international football after the 2014 World Cup. Up until the Northern Ireland game, Benedikt Hoewedes (FC Schalke 04) was Loew's compromise solution as right back. It was one Loew was never entirely happy about as Hoewedes, an out and out central defender, wasn't a great help when the team was going forward.

Joshua Kimmich could solve Loew's expectations is that he is not only able to close all doors at the back but also drive Germany's game along the flanks. Against Northern Ireland, Kimmich, along with Jonas Hector (1. FC Cologne) down the left, gave the German game the balance it had been lacking. "Before, our game relied too much on forays down the left," said the German head coach.

Who then is the young Joshua Kimmich who seems to be ready to take over the hard job of an all time great in Philipp Lahm (113 caps for Germany). Kimmich's career was far from what you call a rocket like one. Leaving the club of his childhood and early youth, VfB Stuttgart, he joined RB Leipzig in the third division and was part of a team that was promoted to the second Bundesliga. "For me it was just the right way into professional football. It was a step by step thing," Kimmich said in a recent Xinhua Interview.