Munich/Frankfurt – Is that really Julian Nagelsmann who is speaking? This chronically wet-headed, carefree person who is always so sure of himself? Can not be. The person sitting on the podium in the mouse-gray doublet and talking about the DFB team’s squad for the test matches against France and the Netherlands does so in a penitential manner. While answering, he looks over at the press spokesperson for several minutes, hardly daring to lift his head and look into the room. As if he had eaten something and now had to apologize in public.
Nagelsmann about the DFB squad: “It won’t turn around completely, but…”
It’s somewhat unheard of what the national coach decided and now it can be read in black and white next to the podium: the squad, which, according to Nagelsmann, can still change by the time of the European Championship, but not fundamentally: “It won’t change completely. But it’s also not the case that the door for “Anyone who isn’t nominated now is closed. I told everyone that on the phone too.”
If an offensive player “scores a lot of goals in the next eight weeks or has a lot of impact in his club, then a position can also be swapped.” However, it is “a little more difficult for defenders to play their way in, but the door is not completely closed there either.”
Radical treatment for the last DFB squad before being nominated for the European Championship
The squad is a radical cure, a break with the usual, which is a good thing. It is a mix of maturity and risk, with six novices (Waldemar Anton, Maximilian Beier, Jan-Niklas Beste, Maximilian Mittelstädt, Aleksandar Pavlovic, Deniz Undav) and six returnees, with a lot of experience and much more form. The term “momentum” was mentioned every two minutes during the press conference, which lasted exactly half time, closely followed by the key word “performance principle”.
Bayern patron Uli Hoeneß often used the phrase ‘The trend is your friend’. Nagelsmann explains himself as follows: “After the last few games, we said that we will definitely and must change things. The appeal of the new has to be there. The appeal has to sparkle in the eyes. The European Championships are not about the 20 most talented from the most famous clubs, but rather the 20 that fit together best.”
DFB squad without numerous, usual regular players
The result is a squad without former regular greats like Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry, Mats Hummels or Niklas Süle. Leroy Sané is also missing, but due to suspension. So why without Hummels, whom he had just brought back? Nagelsmann: “We will build differently than we did last time. We have one less central defender in the build-up. I don’t see Mats as the ideal choice in terms of the backup role. If we had seen him in the first eleven, it might be a little different.” And why without Goretzka, who has recently improved greatly? “That has nothing to do with Pavlovic. Of course Leon was frustrated, sad and disappointed.”
Making decisions is part of his job profile. The question of captaincy is also there, even if Nagelsmann does not want to overestimate this role: “Ilkay remains captain. He is proud to wear the armband. We should all be captains on the field. Manuel Neuer’s word will continue to have weight. Other players should also be the point of contact for be colleagues.”
Neuer or Ter Stegen? “I’m not anticipating anything.”
Oh yes, ex-captain Neuer is back, to the chagrin of Marc-André ter Stegen. According to the coach, who will be number one at the European Championships has apparently not yet been decided: “We will have a conversation with both goalkeepers. I’m not making any advance decisions.”
Nagelsmann didn’t brood over this trend-setting squad until the end, some things had long since leaked out. Regarding his own future, he says: “It is advisable to take care of your professional future. Especially if you have an expiring contract. That doesn’t distract me from day-to-day business. If I have a suitable offer, then the probability is high that I’ll sign before the European Championships. I don’t have anything at the moment.”