Part of the Leipzig side that reached the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League semi-finals, Upamecano displayed his ability on the ball as he broke the lines with vertical passes 113 times in the competition – more than any other player to make it that far.Reunited with Julian Nagelsmann when his ex-Leipzig coach followed him to Bayern in summer 2021 – Upamecano’s deal had been agreed the previous February – the Frenchman believed he will continue to flourish under his straight-talking boss.
“I have a very good relationship with Julian. I like coaches who tell me things as they are, and he does that. If I haven’t been good, he comes to me and says: ‘You made a bad decision there and you should have done that’, and he shows me clips right away,” Upamecano said.
“He also speaks regularly with the players. And as a defender, above all, it’s very good to have him because with him, we try to take risks and play forward.”
Upamecano certainly does that, and successfully. His pass completion percentage has consistently been above 90 throughout his Bundesliga career – and a remarkable 89 per cent when under pressure in 2022/23 – symptomatic of a man who “played everywhere, forward, midfielder…” before he settled in defence at Valenciennes, his first professional club.”He loves defending, getting the ball off opponents,” France youth coach Jean-Claude Giuntini said of Upamecano.
He generally does get the ball too, winning 60 per cent of his challenges and making 38 interceptions over the first 15 matchdays of the 2022/23 season – both are the best returns of any player in the Bundesliga and made it very difficult for Nagelsmann not to play him, even with Matthijs de Ligt and Lucas Hernandez the current competitors.
Plays a bit like: Marcel DesaillyDesailly was nicknamed ‘The Rock’ for a reason. Upamecano shares the same build as France’s 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000 winner, and is equally the sort of player on whom a side can be built: solid, reliable, immovable.
What they’re saying”He’s a great defender. He didn’t need much time to adapt. He already knew the coach, and what was expected of him.
He’s a great guy, very very nice, a fantastic player. Defensively, he gives us a lot.” – Bayern and France teammate Lucas Hernandez”I’ve not seen a faster centre-back, and Dayot has an unbelievable physique. He can become as good as Jerome Boateng if he can keep improving.” – former Leipzig teammate Timo Werner”His development has been super.
He’s taken big steps.” – Julian Nagelsmann on Upamecano’s progress from his first to second season at Bayern”If there are four better centre-backs than Dayot Upamecano, I want to see them.” – former Leipzig coach Ralf Rangnick when Upamecano was not called up for a France U21 game. He sent a scouting team… which eventually led to the signing of Ibrahima Konate!