The delight could be felt everywhere. On Wednesday, Matthijs de Ligt finally linked up with his teammates and really got cracking at FC Bayern. Supremely confident and with a smile on his lips, he started his first session with his new teammates on the Audi Summer Tour 2022 in Washington, D.C., before revealing his ambitions at a press conference.
Important component for the future
He was accompanied by president Herbert Hainer and CEO Oliver Kahn - and their delight with the transfer coup was also evident.
"He's an important component of our concept for the future and the team we want to build. Matthijs will play a leading role, I am sure of that. He has always taken on leadership roles. That's what we want," said Hainer.
Check out our new signing's statements from the press conference here:
De Ligt accepted this statement with goodwill, as it was precisely these prospects that had tempted him to move to Munich. Kahn also made it abundantly clear: "We are all happy that Matthijs is here now. A lot of detailed work is involved in the run-up to a transfer like this. We play very well as a team with Hasan Salihamidžić and Marco Neppe as well as Michael Gerlinger."
First training session, first markers
During the first training session, you could already sense what makes the 22-year-old Dutchman so special. He wasted no time in taking command in many game play situations and even did so in German. "Keep going! Keep going!" he encouraged his colleagues from time to time. So the Bayern gene definitely doesn't seem to be foreign to him. Generally, in what was a very intensive session run by coach Julian Nagelsmann, he was instantly very dominant.
"I'm proud to be part of this club. It is a great honour. I will train hard to be as good as possible," said de Ligt, clarifying once again that it didn't take long to convince him to move to FCB. "This club and its mentality just suit me very well."
The tasks that await him are clearly defined: With his height of 1.89 metres, de Ligt is to become the new cornerstone in the centre of the defence. At the same time, he's aware that he could also be needed up front: "I have to defend first and foremost, that's what Bayern got me for. But I also know that I have to do more and get involved in build-up play, defend going forward. I also think I can score more goals than I did at Juventus because of my heading ability. With the departure of Robert Lewandowski, we've lost a great striker. Now it's up to everyone to score more goals."
Conversations with Robben
De Ligt impresses with clarity - in his game and in his statements. A few years ago, he had positive conversations with Arjen Robben about FC Bayern, and as a fan he also followed Mark van Bommel's time as captain and the work of coach Louis van Gaal. It's entirely possible that the values that make de Ligt so strong today were formed during that time.
Chasing new trophies
"He has the ability to lead, to direct, to organise. It's good for us to have someone like that at the back," praised Joshua Kimmich.
Together, we'll continue to pursue the ultimate goals in all competitions. "Bayern is one of the biggest clubs in the world, we want to win as many trophies as possible," declared de Ligt.
His idols Robben and van Bommel wrote their success stories with FC Bayern. De Ligt is now starting his own exciting chapter.
Let's go!
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