National coach
Open interview: Nagelsmann’s father was apparently a BND agent
National coach Julian Nagelsmann: His father’s death made him grow up faster
© Federico Gambarini / DPA
National coach Julian Nagelsmann was 20 years old when his father committed suicide. In an interview, he explained in detail what happened to him back then and that his father kept his true profession a secret for a long time.
His father’s suicide still concerns him to this day. “I think back to that day often,” said the 36-year-old. “I was on a coaching course in Oberhaching near Munich and got my C license there. And suddenly the course leader said that I should please go out.” The next moment he stood in front of his father-in-law at the time, “who told me that my dad had killed himself.”
Hard blow for young Julian Nagelsmann
It was a hard blow for him as a young man. “That was difficult. My dad didn’t leave a suicide note, there was no explanation. But the way he took his own life made it clear that his decision was absolutely clear to him,” said Nagelsmann. “It feels really bad for the family, but it helped me to know that he really wanted to die and it wasn’t about a cry for help or a signal. I think I have to respect a decision like that.”
Nagelsmann spoke of his strong bond and “excellent” relationship with his father, who hardly said anything about his job. “He wasn’t allowed to talk about his job,” said Nagelsmann. “That was also the reason why he often said that it was all too much for him. Sharing worries didn’t happen in his job. In the end, it put a lot of strain on him.” He doesn’t know exactly what his father did at the BND. “In any case, he wasn’t in the administration,” said Nagelsmann.
Taken over a lot from his father
His father was “courageous,” “he had to make decisions again and again at work, knowing that the whole plan could go awry,” said Nagelsmann, who recognizes some characteristics in himself: “I think I have took over a lot from him.”
The time after the loss shaped him. “I was in my early twenties and suddenly had to take care of the family and sort out all the insurance. Everyday things that you don’t really give a thought to at that age,” said Nagelsmann. “I had to make serious decisions, also to relieve my mother, who suddenly lived in a big house without her partner. With all her memories.” Such decisions have a different dimension than questions about “whether one or the other striker will play from the start.” He grew up faster.