Bayern Munich and France center-back Dayot Upamecano must confuse himself sometimes.
The 25-year-old can play so well for an extended period and then totally blow it with a massive (and usually unnecessary) mistake. The latest miscue occurred when Upamecano picked up a sloppy foul in the box against Poland earlier this week, which allowed Robert Lewandowski to knot the game at 1-1.
For Upamecano, he just wants to move on from the miscue.
“I watched it again just after the match. I could have done better on this action, but I told myself that if I let him control the ball, he might find himself alone in front of the goal. Then I would have been asked why I didn’t intervene. You have to make a decision in a short time. I made the choice to stick my foot in. It was a bit complicated, but now it’s over, I’m looking ahead,” said Upamecano (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).
For his part, Upamecano said he does not dwell on his mistakes.
“No. Before when I was younger, I would say, ‘yes.’ Now when I make a mistake I try to focus on the next action. I say to myself that the mistake has been done anyway, and I try to refocus because things happen very quickly,” said Upamecano. “There’s always criticism. You have to see how to take it. Personally, it doesn’t affect me and I try not to look too closely at what is said about me. I always try to focus on the team and see how I can progress.”
It remains to be seen with what happened to Upamecano at Bayern Munich. Some rumors indicate that he wants to move on, while others say that the defender will be a key player under Vincent Kompany.
Whatever happens, the center-back needs to find a way to fight his urges to make unnecessarily risky plays on the backline.
Looking for some thoughts on Germany’s group stage performance, Bayern Munich’s wild start to the transfer season, and why the New World Order in the front office might not have a long-term plan at this stage? Good, then we have you covered with our Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show! You can get the podcast on Spotify or below: