Oliseh…a combination of Robben and De Bruyne and the biggest threat to Real Madrid

With his unexpected dribbles, arcing shots, and hard work in training, the French national football team winger, Michael Oliset, attracts praise comparisons, as a combination of the Dutch Arjen Robben and the Belgian Kevin De Bruyne, after he became one of the keys to the attacking play in the title-hungry Bayern Munich.
On Tuesday evening (23:00 UAE time), Oliseh will play the first European Clasico of his career against Real Madrid, at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Before leaving the Bavarian House in the spring of 2025 after a quarter of a century he spent at the club, Thomas Muller was keen to reassure Bayern fans: “No, Michael Oliseh is not a one-season phenomenon,” expressing his admiration for the consistency shown by the French international in his level.
After 12 months, Oliseh – the biggest threat to Real Madrid on Tuesday – surpassed his impressive numbers last season. In last Saturday’s match in which Bayern turned the tables on Freiburg (a 3-2 win after trailing 0-2 ten minutes before the end of regular time), Oliseh made his eighteenth assist in the German League, and became only three assists away from the record in one season, set by Thomas Muller (21 in the 2019-2020 season).
In all competitions, including the penalty kicks he caused, his tally reached 28 decisive contributions, which is the highest by a large margin in Europe, five more than the total he achieved in the 2024-2025 season.
Unlike the French national team, where he plays in the heart of the attacking system, Oliseh is positioned on the right wing with Bayern, where he impresses the defenders with his elegant and unassuming dribbles, and in perfect chemistry with the Austrian right-back Konrad Laimer.

Raise the ceiling to the highest level
During the sweeping display in the first leg of the eighth-final against the Italian Atalanta in Bergamo (6-1), Oliseh repeated his distinctive move, by penetrating deep and then launching a shot with his left foot after one or more shooting tricks.
The result was two goals and very clear similarities to Robben.
Bayern’s Belgian coach, Vincent Kompany, said on Friday in a press conference: “What makes Michael so special is his mentality. In this respect, I can only compare him to Kevin De Bruyne. What bothers Michael in training, I feel as if I see a young Kevin, what Michael demands, the details of his last pass.”
The Belgian coach added: “What he does when shooting, when he dribbles with the right and left foot, and the way he analyzes everything, I have the feeling that I have lived through this before with another player. He raises the ceiling to the highest level every time, and this is the reason for his development, and the reason why he is able to become better.”
Thanks to his brilliance and presence throughout the field, Oliseh has become the second highest rated player in the German League according to the rankings of the bi-weekly magazine “Kicker”, while he remains calmer away from the green rectangle.
Bayern’s rising talent, Lennart Karl, said in an interview with the weekly “Sport Bild” during the international break: “In the dressing room, he is the complete opposite of the image that the public may have of him. He makes a lot of jokes, has a great sense of humor, and is very active within the team.”
His offers led to a significant jump in his market value (140 million euros, according to the specialized website “Transfermarkt”, the highest for a player in Bayern), and he also attracted the interest of several major clubs, which leaves the Bavarian club indifferent, in light of Oliseh’s contract until 2029.
Bayern supervisory board member Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told the Spanish newspaper AS: “These are rumors that make everyone at the club laugh. He still has three years left on his contract. People go to the stadium for players like him.”