EM EM preparation
National team trains in front of 15,000 fans
Status: 18:06 | Reading time: 3 minutes
“We want to be part of the group that stays with us until the end”
The European Championships begin in Germany in a few weeks. However, a few players are still missing from the DFB training camp. National coach Julian Nagelsmann explains how he is dealing with this in a joint press conference with sports director Rudi Völler.
Public training in front of 15,000 fans, a family celebration, a visit from the Federal President and national players at the Blankenhain Tafel: The national team’s days in Thuringia are varied. And the European Championship goal has been formulated.
Julian Nagelsmann liked this spirit of optimism. Black, red and gold flags and cheering fans – at the public training in Jena, there was already a hint of the summer feeling that is supposed to carry the national football team through the European Championship. “We are happy to be here. We are happy that it is starting,” DFB sports director Rudi Völler called out to the 15,000 lucky fans who had managed to get a free ticket for the public training session in the Carl Zeiss Jena stadium on Monday afternoon. To the song “Major Tom”, the DFB players, including tournament veteran Thomas Müller, ran onto the stadium lawn a little late and began their training program.
A few hours earlier, Nagelsmann had opened the German European Championship mission in Blankenhain Castle. And not in a smart suit, but in his training kit. With his choice of clothing, the fashion-conscious national coach from Weimar sent a clear message to the football nation. For tournament newcomer Nagelsmann, who is bursting with energy, the coming weeks will be all about hard work, which should ideally be crowned in the big European Championship final on July 14 in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.
Training in front of a large crowd – the German fans are excited about the European Championship
Source: AFP/TOBIAS SCHWARZ
“I’m looking forward to training,” said the 36-year-old. At the start of preparations for the home tournament, Nagelsmann also chatted in a good mood about his first night in the posh team quarters in Blankenheim. He slept well in the soft duvet. “And now they want to hear that I dreamed of winning the European Championship,” said Nagelsmann with a grin, before adding: “I have a lot of daydreams that also have to do with winning the European Championship.”
Nagelsmann only trained with a small group
Nagelsmann has to contend with a stuttering start to the first phase of preparation for the European Championship, which begins on June 14 in Munich against Scotland. The training group will only fill up slowly.
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Manuel Neuer will not arrive until Wednesday at the earliest after suffering from a gastrointestinal infection. “He’s still a bit weak,” reported Nagelsmann. For him, however, the 38-year-old Bayern captain will remain the tournament goalkeeper, “if he’s healthy.” The Leverkusen double-winning trio of Robert Andrich, Florian Wirtz and Jonathan Tah, as well as captain Ilkay Gündogan (FC Barcelona), will only arrive in Blankenhain in the middle of the week and start work.
Bayern trio with rehabilitation training
After a few days of special leave, substitute goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen will not even join the DFB team until the penultimate European Championship friendly match next Monday in Nuremberg against Ukraine (8.30 p.m., in the WELT live ticker). And the Champions League finalists Toni Kroos and Antonio Rüdiger from Real Madrid as well as Niclas Füllkrug and Nico Schlotterbeck from Borussia Dortmund are the last to join the team and are not expected until the following day. “The fine-tuning will then take place in Herzogenaurach,” noted Völler.
Tactics tinkerer Julian Nagelsmann
Source: AFP/TOBIAS SCHWARZ
The long club season has also left physical marks on several players. The Bayern trio Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sané and Aleksandar Pavlovic are still training in moderation. Leipzig’s David Raum is still suffering from lateral ligament problems in his knee. Nagelsmann’s main wish for preparation is understandable: “We hope that no player gets injured and that we don’t have to nominate any players.”
