Since Friday, world champion Benjamin Pavard has played 100 competitive games for FC Bayern. The defensive specialist has seen a lot and achieved a lot since 2019, and the competition for his favourite job in particular has been tough.
It was a spectacularly funny move to remember from the usually quiet Benjamin Pavard and his anniversary against Wolfsburg. The Frenchman left the pitch during the ongoing match because he urgently needed to go to the toilet. So that he didn’t have to rush too much five minutes before the final whistle, his coach Julian Nagelsmann substituted him. There is no question that the 25-year-old has already been through a lot at FC Bayern, is a World Champion, Champions League winner, Club World Champion, German Champion and Cup winner.
On 1 July 2019, Pavard moved from VfB Stuttgart to the Isar. Title chase instead of 2nd league was the name of the game from then on. “100 games is a great mark. This number fills me with great pride. To achieve it at such a big club”, “is something I dreamed of as a little boy.
I dreamt of this when I was a little boy.
At the record champions, he started 75 times at right-back, 16 times inside defence, 1 time outside left and 8 times Pavard was substituted. Versatility is one of his strengths, but: “My best position is in central defence, that’s always been the case,” says the Frenchman. In the national team, too, “the centre is my home”.
Pavard’s compatriots block the way inside
And FC Bayern has several Frenchmen in the squad for the defensive centre in particular: Lucas Hernandez, Dayot Upamecano and Tanguy Nianzou. So his compatriots are challenging Pavard for his favourite job. But he is happy to have so many Frenchmen around him in Munich’s star ensemble. “With Choupo-Moting and Serge Gnabry, we have around seven or eight players who speak French, which is of course good. I have a great relationship with Lucas, for example, and I also play with him in the national team. They’re all competitors, but it doesn’t matter whether someone speaks German or French. “