Mic'd Up: The ESPN FC host hails Bayern Munich's improvement, takes stock of Gio Reyna's struggles, and makes Ballon d'Or prediction
Kay Murray is as knowledgeable as anyone when it comes to European football. The English broadcaster and studio host has covered a bit of everything in her time as an on-air and sideline talent. These days, she's in the studio for ESPN FC, covering the madness of soccer on the continent, but focusing on the Bundesliga. It's an interesting year for her, with Bayern Munich returning to the top of the league.
"I find Bayern very interesting, and I feel that there's a lot more calm around them this season," she tells GOAL.
Part of the appeal, Murray says, has been the influence of Vincent Kompany. The manager wasn't among the favorites to take the job last summer, but has got the Bavarians back to winning ways in no time.
"It's crazy that this is somebody who wasn't even on the top five of the wish list to come in as Bayern coach," she says. "But I don't feel like we're really talking about that anymore, and I think that's a testament and credit to him. It kept getting mentioned in the beginning, but everything he's done to essentially steady the ship – because there's been a bit of chaos around Bayern – has put them in that light."
His credentials will be tested this weekend, though, when Bayern take on Borussia Dortmund in the latest iteration of Der Klassiker, with Bayern's Harry Kane continuing his quest for silverware. The match begins at 12:25 p.m. ET on ESPN, ESPN+, Disney+ and ESPN Deportes.
Dortmund are struggling this season, and will hope to rebound after a comprehensive 4-0 defeat at the hands of Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal. They may be playing for pride, but there is no way they will roll over for their biggest rivals.
"I wouldn't say for sure that Bayern will win this one. But then there's part of it that thinks if they do win it, it will be a blowout. That's the thing. It goes back to that Dortmund thing, but I think there might be a little bit of life in the old dog yet with Borussia Dortmund," she says.
Either way, it will make for a fascinating watch. Murray talked German football, Gio Reyna, Ballon d'Or and more in Mic'd Up, a recurring feature in which GOAL US taps into the perspective of broadcasters, analysts, and other pundits on the state of soccer in the U.S. and abroad.
Getty ImagesON BAYERN MUNICH
GOAL: What do you make of Bayern Munich this season?
MURRAY: I find Bayern very interesting, and I feel that there's a lot more calm around them this season, and that has to be because of Vincent Kompany coming in. It's crazy that this is somebody who wasn't even on the top five of the wish list to come in as Bayern coach. But I don't feel like we're really talking about that anymore, and I think that's a testament and credit to him. It kept getting mentioned in the beginning, but everything he's done to essentially steady the ship – because there's been a bit of chaos around Bayern – has put them in that light.
It's a weird thing with Bayern at the moment where you want to give them credit. They've got a six-point advantage at the top of the Bundesliga, but there are still some times this season where you feel as though they've got away with a few things. And there's been some questions and some concerns. I remember the first time they had a big test this season. There was like a run of games where they were going to play Leverkusen, Aston Villa, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Barcelona. It wasn't always convincing in those games, but they still seemed to come through, and they've kept that unity, and you can tell that something's much tighter there than it had been. So it's going to be interesting to see the tests that they've got ahead.
GOAL: Will they get over the line in the Bundesliga?
MURRAY: Without a doubt. I feel that strongly about it. I can still make a case on air if I need to about where it could go wrong, but it would have to go wrong. No team has ever thrown away this big of an advantage in the Bundesliga at this stage of a season. So why would Bayern do it now when they have been steadier and a lot more convincing than Leverkusen behind them? And so I think, if I'm honest, it's pretty much already dead. However, there are some tests still ahead that could derail things a little bit, so we'll see what happens in the Champions League. It's obviously not great all the injuries they've got at the moment, but I do feel, to your point, that they'll have enough to get over the line.
AdvertisementAFPON HARRY KANE
GOAL: It looks like Harry Kane is finally going to break his career long trophy drought. What does that mean for him, do you think?
MURRAY: Everybody loves that narrative. It is interesting with the situations he's been in, but I really hope it happens for him. And this is not a bias of him being an England striker. I think it's hard not to like Harry Kane. He's such a top professional. He's a world-class striker. He does everything that's asked of him as a professional. Last season, it wasn't Bayern's season, and he's still getting the numbers and the individual accolades that would be expected of somebody of his caliber. I think it's hard not to be happy for him, and he's played a huge part in that trophy coming their way, if and when it does.
GOAL: He may as well just win something at this point. It seems it's like one of those cool things.
MURRAY: That first season, he comes and Bayer Leverkusen, against all the odds, win the title that year, and you're thinking, "Oh my goodness, is it going to happen for him?" But I think that if you looked at it and you looked at it properly, you'd think, "Well, if he's in the right place now for it to happen." So, OK, it didn't happen in the first season, but it is going to happen for him now.
GettyON GIO REYNA
GOAL: The American consciousness is fascinated by Gio Reyna. What does Gio need to do? Does he need to go? Is it time? So many managers, injuries. What's your what's your opinion?
MURRAY: It's really hard to know what to say with Gio Reyna, because he's still so young as well that he feels like he's been around forever. The injuries haven't helped him either. And then he went through this period of I remember coming on and making a difference, and then those moments go I just feel like he just needs something to go his way, somewhere, with a manager to really bank on him, and him to bank on himself. The talent is undeniable.
By extension there's this fascination with him and Borussia Dortmund. My co-host Ale Moreno gets so annoyed all the time by Dortmund because he just can't trust them, but there's this fascination around them all the time. It won't go away, because just when you think they're down and out, they'll do something that you think, "Oh, my goodness. How have they done that? Why aren't they showing that all the time?"
We had a bit of back and forth on air about it, because they've got this massive week coming up where they've got Bayern away from home. I can't say for sure that they won't take something away, against Bayern. That's the fascination around Dortmund, we never know what we're going to get from them. That's why you can't trust them. I agree with Ale Marino on that, you can't trust them – but you also can't count them out, because time and time again, they've proved that they'll do something that you're not expecting.
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Getty ImagesON DER KLASSIKER
GOAL: You mentioned you wouldn't be surprised if Dortmund win, but do you have a prediction? Is this the day that Bayern put the nail in the coffin and win the title?
MURRAY: It could be, but I think there might be a little twist, because they held them in the reverse fixture. And granted, Harry Kane goes out injured in that fixture. But Jamal Musiala was the one who salvaged the point in the reverse fixture, and now they don't have him. We're really gonna need to see Serge Gnabry and Thomas Muller, which is so interesting – he's going at the end of the season, and now they might just be heavily relying on him for the last phase. Leroy Sane is really going to have to step up, not just in this game, but in the games that follow without Musiala.
And then they have defensive injuries. It is really not a good time for them. It's this time of the season when you see players dropping like flies, when they've had such a packed schedule. And I just don't know how that's going to factor in. I think they're going to have enough to go over the line, but I wouldn't say for sure that Bayern will win this one. But then there's part of it that thinks if they do win it, it will be a blowout. That's the thing. It goes back to that Dortmund thing, but I think there might be a little bit of life in the old dog yet with Borussia Dortmund this weekend against Bayern.
GOAL: The footballing world always seems drawn to, El Clasico, or in England, Liverpool-United, the Manchester Derby. How significant is Der Klassiker?
MURRAY: It's really significant. And regardless of what's going on, which is what we find ourselves in this season, Dortmund have just found their way back into the top half of the table. That's how bad it's been, and I think it was last season was the first time we saw a Klassiker without at least one of the teams being at the top of the table. So it's a strange time for it. But you just still see that intense rivalry that goes deep, that goes through history over all those years, with some massive name players that have been involved with it.
Regardless of what's going on and how bad or good those teams are doing, it doesn't seem to change how they feel, and it doesn't seem to change the appeal for this game overall. You could be looking at other teams that are in the top four at the moment, and they'll be facing either a Bayern or a Leverkusen. And because we're involved in the Bundesliga, we're like, "OK, this is great. This is going to be an amazing matchup this week, because these two teams are facing each other." But as a whole, if you were to put that out to a broader audience, they're much more interested in seeing a rivalry and a game between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.