What does Arturo Vidal Bring for Bayern Munich?

Enter Arturo Vidal.

The Chilean has been a controversial figure in the last month or so, having been the subject of a DUI charge while on duty for his country in the Copa America. Of course, Chile went on to win the competition itself and it was none other than Vidal who was the centerpiece of his country’s success. Apart from that, he has had a stellar career at Juventus, where he again had been the centerpiece of bring the team from the obscurities of the Calciopoli scandal to pinnacle of European football once again.

He is characterized by being the prototypical example of what a modern day box-to-box midfielder looks like; screening the backline, performing crucial tackles all over the pitch, carrying and passing the ball forward, and assisting and scoring goals aplenty. He has the tenacity that few can match in his position, and most importantly has a winning mentality.

Despite his fiery nature, the Chilean has only accumulated a singular red card during his four-year spell with the Italian champions. He will go into dangerous tackles, but the midfielder seems to know how far he can simply take it to the referee. The one red card he had received wasn’t the result of him getting a second yellow, which suggests that he knows the boundaries of how much and how strong his challenges should be throughout the remainder of the match. This is an important aspect to have, especially considering when Juventus goes head to head with the heavyweights in Italy and in Europe, where he can risk putting his club a man down in these crucial matches.

Of course, he has also had experience in the Bundesliga, he was a fantastic midfielder for Bayer Leverkusen before his move to the Old Lady which surely put his name in the limelight for every major club in Europe can see. This will more than likely mean that the Chilean can hit the ground running in the Bundesliga, having already been exposed to the pace of the league prior. Lastly, he is only 28, which would allow Bayern Munich to get three, four, possibly five years of Vidal’s service at the highest level from this stage of his career.

The most obvious situation of where Vidal could be used would be in a 4-3-3 formation, where he can play his best position as a box-to-box midfielder alongside Javi Martinez and Thiago Alcantara. A midifield three consisting of those names is perfectly balanced and dynamic. Javi Martinez being the anchor man screening the back line, Thiago Alcantara being the creative outlet in the team, potentially playing as a hybrid 8/10 role where we can create from deep while also playing one-twos with the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Mueller up front. Lastly Vidal would be running up and down the pitch, helping Martinez in defense, being the extra man in the center of the park to both pass and run with the ball, as well as being an extra goal threat from midfield.

In the end, only Guardiola knows where Arturo Vidal will play in the Bayern Munich setup. Vidal won’t be a like for like replace for Bastian Schweinsteiger, but he will certainly help fill the void where Bastian Schweinsteiger’s winning mentality had been before in the Bayern midfield. This is a transfer that can potentially take Bayern Munich very far into every competition they are in this season.

Michael Skok
Football Editor for
Polish-American Portal www.Poland.us
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