The midfield revival of Javi Martinez at Bayern Munich

Since the return of Jupp Heynckes, Javi Martinez has seen a pleasant return to form in midfield. How does this affect Bayern Munich going forward?

It’s hard to pin down a period where Bayern Munich have aroused such a level of club drama. Just over a month ago, the Bayern executives were forced to part ways with Carlo Ancelotti early in his second year with the club. Replacing Ancelotti, Jupp Heynckes and his return seem to have achieved a shockingly positive turnaround.

Subsequently, this has also resulted in some key players returning to form. David Alaba, for instance, is looking more like the world’s best left-back with each passing game. Similarly, Kingsley Coman is becoming a massively important player in the Bayern offensive. But there’s yet another player who has perhaps had the biggest renaissance since Jupp’s return.

Javi Martinez has promptly slotted back into his favored defensive-midfield position under Jupp Heynckes. As competition will only get more serious — in the Bundesliga and Champions League — this could prove invaluable to the club.

Javi’s defensive capabilities shine in midfield

The Spaniard has proven to be generally capable as a center-back in the past. Versatility is a trait that is becoming very popular in the modern game, and at Bayern, this is no exception. It must be said, though, Javi’s slow reaction time has become a liability in the back-line.

Martinez certainly has the body-type of a center-back.. However, he frequently gets exploited by quick counters. His slow reaction time and lack of pace leave little time for back-up to provide him cover.

As was evident in the glorious ’12-13 treble winning season, Javi Martinez thrives when he’s a supplement to the back-line, rather than a direct component of it. Javi shows his best when he acts as a defensive shield to the back-four.

In doing so, he can be the bruiser disrupting opposition possession before it becomes an issue to the defense, or even drop a little deeper and play in between the center-backs. This way, he provides extra cover, should a defender be beat, almost acting as a temporary third center-back.

The Spaniard works best in a defensive-midfield pivot

Much like in 2013, Javi has recently shown that he works best in a defensive midfield partnership. Back then, Martinez worked with the legendary Bastian Schweinsteiger in a defensive-midfield pivot in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Both players displayed gladiator-like defending qualities, but Schweini focused a little more on the distributive side.

This let Martinez play as more of a “bruiser;” almost serving as a bouncer and passing outlet for Schweinsteiger and the back-line. Bayern Munich posed a wall to any opposition seeking to pass through on goal. Facing both Javi Martinez and Bastian Schweinsteiger with an entire back four of Lahm, Boateng, Dante and Alaba — only to have Neuer on top of that — was terrifying.

Unlike Bastian Schweinsteiger, Javi doesn’t really work well if he’s the sole defensive midfielder, like in a 4-1-4-1. Against Borussia Dortmund, what looked like a 4-2-3-1 with Thiago and Javi, ended in what looked more like a 4-1-4-1.

While Bayern largely dominated Dortmund this weekend, there were a few notable scares. One of which was when Martinez nearly gave a goal away, almost allowing Shinji Kagawa a clean shot on goal. Part of this could be that Martinez is not quite used to playing in midfielder yet, but also perhaps because Thiago played mostly advanced up the field, alongside James Rodriguez.

Thankfully, the match played out in favor of Bayern Munich. However, playing Thiago deeper or even using Sebastian Rudy in that second defensive-midfield slot would provide more stability.

Next: Bayern Munich’s rapid turnaround is a surprise to Arjen Robben

Bayern Munich finding their rhythm

This is just one example of the team finding their groove again since Heynckes’ return. The timing seems to have worked out so far, as Bayern Munich managed to make it through a string of tough performances with nothing but wins against RB Leipzig — twice — Celtic away, and Borussia Dortmund. As injured players work their remaining comebacks, hopefully we will see a Bayern Munich in prime form soon enough.