Joshua Kimmich would like to play Manuel Neuer at tennis more often. The Bayern Munich teammates have only met once on the court, with the club captain prevailing, much to Kimmich's chagrin.
"Manu seems to serve from a different floor of a building," Kimmich told Bild, referencing the Bayern goalkeeper's height. "The ball comes down so quickly, that sometimes I could barely see it. During our only game – when we were on international duty with Germany – he just kept playing backhands and then attacking the net. He's so big it's really tough to get the ball past him."
Jokes about Neuer getting unusually close to the net aside, it is little wonder that Kimmich remembers the details of the loss so vividly. A Bayern and Germany cornerstone already, the 22-year-old is not accustomed to tasting defeat – and when he does, he takes it as badly as he always has done.
"I just can't take losing," Kimmich said. "Once, when my dad was coach of our team in a youth tournament, he gave everyone in the team the same amount of playing time. I went mad because I always wanted to play. When we lost, I just ran off crying."
It did not take Kimmich too long to forgive his father, Berthold, the man he admits has played an influential role in his rise to a player now at the top of the world game with club and country.
"We work off the same page really," said Kimmich, already a two-time Bundesliga winner. "I've got a ridiculous amount to thank him for. If he says nothing after a game, then I know I haven't played well. Even today, if I don't make the most of a good chance, he'll tell me that I used to be more clinical in front of goal, and that I'd score with my left and right foot."
Kimmich's father was not his only role model, however. There were on-pitch heroes, too, some of whom will be music to the ears of Bayern fans, others perhaps less so.
While often compared to Philipp Lahm, whose right-back role Kimmich is reprising with increasing authority for both the domestic and world champions, the Rottweil native admits that it was another Bayern star he looked up to when growing up.
"Xavi Hernandez and Bastian Schweinsteiger [were role models]," said Kimmich. "Although my first shirt was Borussia Dortmund's Tomas Rosicky. I also really liked Krasimir Balakov [a two-footed attacking midfielder who finished fourth at the 1994 FIFA World Cup with Bulgaria and played for VfB Stuttgart between 1995 and 2003]."
Watch: Kimmich scored October's Goal of the Month with a deft flick!
Despite Kimmich's age and the nagging feeling that he has already been around forever, it has been a long journey to reach the same club as Schweinsteiger. Then 18 and a central midfielder, Kimmich left boyhood club Stuttgart for RB Leipzig on the hunt for first-team football in 2013, making 26 appearances in the third tier in 2013/14 as the Easterners secured promotion to Bundesliga 2.
"The move to Leipzig really helped [my career]," said Kimmich. "You learn how to play grown-up football in the second and third divisions. It's not two-touch Tiki-Taka football at that level; it's really intense and physical. Knowing how to look after yourself – something I learned back then – really helps me to this day."
After impressing as Leipzig finished fifth in the second tier in 2014/15, Bayern swooped in January 2015, agreeing a deal for Kimmich – who had caught Pep Guardiola's eye – to move to the Allianz Arena that summer.
There is no quarter given at Bayern, and no room for learning on the job either, but the 25-time Germany international has thrived in a variety of roles since his arrival in Bavaria: from central midfield (his natural position) to centre-back (under Guardiola) and now right-back (under Carlo Ancelotti and Jupp Heynckes).
"I was more of a number 10 when I was younger – the one who set up the goals," Kimmich said. "But the higher the level I've played, the more defensive my role has become. I've always seen myself as a holding midfielder, but fortunately my current position as part of the back four brings with it plenty of opportunities."
They are opportunities that Kimmich has seized to become the most recognisable face of the latest wave of German talent, set to star in the latter stages of the UEFA Champions League and at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
"Personally I don't really see myself as a role model," Kimmich says. "Although in general it does make me proud when I see children wearing my shirt or people holding signs with my name on it in the stadium. I suppose I'm recognised more often now for selfies and autographs, but fortunately at Bayern we don't have to pay for the shirts we give away! That wasn't the case in Leipzig."
He might not see himself as a role model, but Kimmich is most definitely a public figure nowadays: the Bayern star has allowed cameras to follow him on and off the field for the last two years for a documentary to be released on BildPlus on Monday.
"I thought it was a pretty exciting idea," Kimmich said. "Back then it wasn't obvious how long and how multi-faceted it would end up being, but I thought originally that the videos could one day make for some nice memories."
One aspect of Kimmich's life that won't feature in the documentary, however, is his tennis re-run with Neuer. The goalkeeper hasn't been able to get onto the court for a rematch owing to his long-term injury and – knowing Kimmich's inability to lose - he'll be itching even more than most to see his captain fit again and back in action so he can finally get revenge.