Premier League transfer target Maximilian Beier of Borussia Dortmund continues to thrive for his Bundesliga outfit. Another goal in last night’s Champions League victory gives the German national team striker eight goals across all competitions this season. As good as Beier has been in his 31 appearances for club this year, however, some still detect a certain tentativeness in the 23-year-old’s game.
Beier seems to tend towards recording assists rather than shooting goals. The numbers speak for themselves in this case. Beier’s eight goals across comps are paired with six assists in the Bundesliga and Champions League. Beier’s reputation as a team player cannot be questioned. Is it nevertheless time for the seven-times-capped German international to act more selfishly?
Niko Kovac on Maximilian Beier’s style:
“I wanted to delve into Maxi a little bit,” a reporter asked the BVB head coach at last night’s UCL post match press conference. “Notably that, although he always seeks to play forward, there seems to be a certain selfishness lacking sometimes. He gets into the penalty area, but then tends to wait and see if someone will come with him as he looks to set someone up rather than shoot.”
“Is this something you might have to have a talk with Maxi about,” the reporter continued. “Maybe something along the lines of ‘you’re an excellent team player, but sometimes you need to think a little more about yourself’?“
“I don’t think one can change his personality,” Kovac answered. “And it happens to be something that I like. There are simply players who do a lot for their team and he’s one of them. He puts his ego on the back burner and I really like that. And let’s highlight the fact that he rewards himself anyway.
“He runs and lot and works a lot,” Kovac continued. “Many strikers commit the fallacy of thinking that, if they run too hard, they won’t have enough power left to be effective up front. The conserve energy.
“He’s the opposite,” Kovac concluded. “And it’s totally correct that he seeks to be the opposite.“
