Klaus Gjasula has the weekend off, the midfielder is serving another suspension. In 17 second division games for Darmstadt 98 he has already earned ten yellow cards, ordinary professionals would see themselves in a criminally explosive situation, but for the 32-year-old Gjasula the register is a befitting balance – at SC Paderborn he even came up two years ago 17 warnings over the course of the season, which elevates him to FC Bayern der Yellowsünder. In the history of German professional football, he is thus listed as a record holder.
However, Gjasula has to be careful that his young colleague Moussa Diaby does not challenge him for the rank. Diaby has also spent two weekends in the penalty box this season, seven yellow cards and one yellow-red card involuntarily cost him playing time. The troublemaker Gjasula, who is always armed with a helmet, seems to have little more in common with Bayer Leverkusen’s featherweight and lightning-fast winger than being a professional footballer.
But when it comes to violations of the rule book, the two have recently developed a kind of championship. In the current foul statistics, Diaby, supposedly innocent at the age of 22, even surpasses his teammate Robert Andrich, who is reminiscent of the notorious Brit Vinnie Jones not only because of his convict hairstyle and evil eye – his methods as sheriff in Leverkusen’s midfield are also occasionally comparable. After a total of 28 fouls, Diaby is still a few penalties ahead of his experienced colleague, and Gerardo Seoane has also given some thought to that.
Munich’s Upamecano will need to be in top form to catch the Bayer striker, who is in excellent form.
The Swiss coach, as is his way, has a well thought-out explanation on several levels for this unusual case. On the one hand, he evaluates the many fouls as an often impetuous effort to cooperate with the forward defense (“He is certainly not a defensive specialist”) and on the other hand as a reaction to the often desperate attempts of the opponents to “pinch” the super sprinter Diaby then becomes a question of “emotion control”, as Seoane finds: “Moussa has to keep his opponents and the referee in check.”
Saturday’s meeting with Bayern Munich almost required a special test of Diaby’s self-control. Lucas Hernández would certainly have enjoyed working on the French compatriot with all the instruments in his rustic tool case: pliers, hammer, screwdriver. But Hernández will miss the top game of the Bundesliga because of a suspension, Dayot Upamecano will probably replace him, and he will not be disgraced if, in addition to a broken neck and leg, he is given toi toi toi and mast- and sheet break wishes. He may need it. Upamecano has been struggling to maintain his level lately but will need to be in top form to catch the in-form Bayer forward.
Leverkusen wants to try everything to keep Wirtz and Diaby on the Rhine longer
There have been many games over the past 25 years between FC Bayern, who might just seem a little more defeatable than usual, and Bayer 04 Leverkusen, who might just be able to exploit this small weakness in Munich. And very often the compliments that were given before the game turned into even greater polemics after the game. The starting position was similar in the first leg in the Rhineland – at half-time Bayern were already leading 5-0, which was said to be a little less strong. But this humiliating experience is “not a burden,” says Seoane, and of course he has a rational explanation ready: After all, there are no two-legged games in league games. “I’m confident that we’ll be able to achieve a good level of performance,” he said correctly.
Diaby could be instrumental in this if he continues the work of the past few weeks. In his third year at Bayer, he expanded his repertoire to such an extent that many Bayer friends are already concerned about his whereabouts. The club has learned to live with the issue. Every year, someone else who supposedly started a great career in Leverkusen, Kai Havertz 2020, Leon Bailey 2021, goes to prices that amounted to more than just compensation for pain and suffering. Bailey, more or less a reservist at Aston Villa, brought in 32 million euros. Bayer would like to keep their best guys this time, playmaker Florian Wirtz and Sturmrakete Moussa Diaby get along a little better every weekend – to the detriment of the opponents. Bayern should know.