The man crucial to the summer’s mission loves driving. Julian Nagelsmann, 36, had a Jaguar, can be seen in a Porsche convertible in Munich, and also likes to sit on his tractor and ride down mountains on his mountain bike. It’s difficult to use public transport because of its popularity. However, sometimes he feels like he’s on a public bus. Whenever his gut feeling about a task is bad, he would like to “press the stop button” like on the bus, said the national soccer coach on Thursday in Berlin.
Nagelsmann currently has a very good gut feeling – he faces an enormous task. He believes that his imaginary European Championship bus can drive through to the final of the tournament in Germany on July 14th in the Berlin Olympic Stadium. In the capital, the coach presented his provisional squad for the European Championships. And answered WELT AM SONNTAG’s question about the title chances: “I already have the idea and the belief that we can win this thing.”
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Germany last triumphed at the European showdown in 1996 under Berti Vogts, and this European Championship is a historic opportunity – the first major football tournament in this country since the “Summer Fairy Tale” of 2006. Franz Müntefering once said that the SPD chairmanship is the best position next to the Pope. If things go well at the European Championships, the national coaching position could feel just as good. But the pressure on Nagelsmann is enormous, the expectations of him are very high, and the height of the fall is extreme.
Nagelsmann already has the starting eleven in mind
Nagelsmann nominated 27 players. Next weekend he is traveling to Thuringia. His team arrives at the “Spa & GolfResort Weimarer Land” hotel on Sunday. This is where Nagelsmann’s European Championship mission picks up speed – in a five-day training camp he will hone his tactics, processes and team spirit with the professionals. There will be two final test matches against Ukraine and Greece before Germany opens the European Championship against Scotland on June 14th in Munich.
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Nagelsmann is not making the mistake that his predecessor Hansi Flick made before the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Back then, the players sometimes didn’t know for a long time what their specific role would be, or what the core eleven would look like for the tournament.
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The message from the national coach this week, however, is clear: he already has a starting eleven in mind that he completely trusts. There will be adjustments over the course of a tournament, he emphasized. But at the same time made it transparently clear what his team looks like. Germany finally has an axis again. The European Championship drivers finally know early on where and with whom they will play. Nagelsmann named fixed points and gave a direction. Put together a squad with structure and concept, developed a clear basic order and a system.
That’s what it’s all about: character, role, nature
His axis consists of experienced players from world clubs who harmonize in their clubs: goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, 38, and Joshua Kimmich, 29, who is planned as a right-back, central defender Antonio Rüdiger, 31, and pace setter Toni Kroos, 34, from Real Madrid, as well as captain Ilkay Gündogan, 33, from FC Barcelona and Bayern’s young star Jamal Musiala, 21. Nagelsmann has found new places for Gündogan in a more offensive role and Kimmich on the outside. There is also Jonathan Tah, 28, from Bayer Leverkusen as the second man in the center of defense and his club colleague Florian Wirtz, 21, as a creative offensive force. On the left at the back is the in-form Maximilian Mittelstädt, 27, from VfB Stuttgart and, up front, Kai Havertz, 24, from FC Arsenal. Bayern’s Leroy Sané, 28, has a good chance of playing time, but he was injured recently and probably doesn’t have a place in the starting line-up.
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Nagelsmann has held numerous discussions in the past few weeks. He spoke to the players about his expectations of them – and to the national team’s cook and physiotherapist. It is his first tournament; he has only been national coach since last September. Character, role, nature of a person: these words are often used by him.
He wanted to get diverse opinions about the players: How did you perceive them during the international matches last March? How do they fit into the community? And with his assistant coach Sandro Wagner, 36, he explains what he needs and wants in terms of sport.
Clear agreements and announcements – “Then he’ll drive again!”
Nagelsmann must report his final squad to the European association Uefa by midnight on June 7th. He is allowed to take 26 players with him to the European Championships, so he can delete one more. Here, too, Nagelsmann takes a different approach than his predecessors: the “shaky candidates” already know from him that they have to worry about their place. It is probably mainly defender Robin Koch, 27, from Eintracht Frankfurt and offensive professional Maximilian Beier, 21, from TSG Hoffenheim; attacker Deniz Undav, 27, from VfB Stuttgart can’t be entirely sure either. Nagelsmann will not miss any of the four goalkeepers.
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The coach did not nominate defensive star Mats Hummels, 35, from Borussia Dortmund and midfielder Leon Goretzka, 29. Two hardships, two losers from Nagelsmann’s EM master plan. “In the end, as head coach, I have to make a decision in the interest of the team,” he said. Former national team captain Michael Ballack, 47, is critical of the decision. Hummels belongs in the squad in terms of performance, he said on MagentaTV. “The friction has been removed a bit in this squad.”
Nagelsmann admitted that the conversations with Hummels and Goretzka were difficult. He assigned clear roles to the players. Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck, 24, for example, the coach made it clear that he is only a replacement for now. Every player knows his role and has accepted it.
The national coach emphasized that if a player suddenly behaves differently and breaks agreements, it is also a good stop after the training camp in Blankenhain, Thuringia. “Then he’ll drive again!” He feels like he’s found a good mix. This consists of “very strong personalities” and “personalities who also subordinate themselves and push others”.
Kroos and Müller are an extended arm of the coaching team
In his starting eleven thoughts, Rüdiger and Kroos were the first. For Nagelsmann, Kroos is the player who creates connections and can also bring calm into the game. He sees him and Thomas Müller, 34, as an extended arm of the coaching team. Müller will only be a replacement, but according to the national coach, he is a “connector” between the various groups in the team. “Thomas can work with the rappers – and with those who yodel,” says Nagelsmann. With 128 games for Germany, Müller is the most experienced player in the European Championship squad. And he is there immediately after being substituted.
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Other roles: Robert Andrich, 29, from Bayer Leverkusen with his “dirtbag mentality,” as Nagelsmann calls it, is supposed to be the “worker” next to Kroos.
In the coming days, the national coach wants to talk to friends who have tournament experience in other sports. Most recently, he was enthusiastic about a documentary about the German national basketball team, which won the World Cup title last year.
As clearly as he sees his starting eleven and as clearly as the roles are assigned, Nagelsmann knows how unpredictable the course of a tournament can be. Despite the good development, the structure is still fragile recently, said the national coach. In addition to results, he attaches great importance to his appearance on the pitch. That is the key. “In general, I see football as an entertainment industry,” he said. “We hope that we entertain people – and in the end score one or two more goals than the opponent.”
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