The 28-year-old striker could take Thomas Müller‘s place in the national team – not just in terms of play, but also in terms of his personality. He is a joker with a low center of gravity.
At midnight we took the bus to Sarajevo Airport. After the 2-1 (2-0) win against Bosnia-Herzegovina, the German national soccer team flew back to Germany. Landing in Nuremberg, from there we took the bus back to the team headquarters in Herzogenaurach: the end of a long and successful journey.
Deniz Undav was in a good mood when he left the stadium in Zenica before the bus left. In his fifth international match he scored his second and third goals (28th and 36th minutes). It was his first “double pack” in the national jersey. The striker played from the start – for the second time in his young national team career – and was an important factor on Friday evening. He ensured that the team fulfilled its mandatory task in the Nations League.
His colleagues and experts saw him as the man of the match. He was happy to accept that, said Undav: “It was a nice evening.” Undav took advantage of his chances in the selection. And he is increasingly recommended for a permanent place in the team. He played centrally behind debutant Tim Kleindienst and was ice-cold and effective in the finish. Undav is the man of the moment in the national team.
“I couldn’t be prouder,” said the 28-year-old. He felt very comfortable in the small stadium, after all, a few years ago he played in the third or fourth division, sometimes on worse pitches.
Undav gave interviews at the stadium exit with his Bosnian friend Ermedin Demirović, with whom he plays at VfB Stuttgart. And explained that he celebrated his goals with a typical Demirovic celebration because they had discussed it like this before the game: “When one of them scores, one of them celebrates the goal of the other.” It was strange, sometimes against each other instead of with each other to play. Undav praised the hospitality of the Bosnian fans, saying it was fun and very respectful.
He also said: “There is nothing better than scoring two goals for the national team. It was clear to us that the Bosnians were a strong team. We take a 2-0 lead, then things get hot again after 2-1.” Julian Nagelsmann was thrilled with Undav’s performance. “He’s a cool guy,” said the national coach after the game.
“Deniz has a very smart and technically good degree. He is extremely difficult to defend because he has such a low center of gravity. He has good competition in his position, but we like having him with us.” Undav takes everyone with him with funny sayings and a cool manner. “He is a positive, life-affirming guy who is good for us, on and off the pitch.”
Many even see Undav as a successor to Thomas Müller. Not just because he took over the jersey number 13 from the retired world champion from FC Bayern. But above all because of his carefree and special nature, which Nagelsmann also raves about.
Undav calls himself a “joker” and emphasizes that he is simply doing his own thing and wants to help the team with good performances.
On Monday (8:45 p.m., ZDF) Germany will play against the Netherlands in Munich: an endurance test in which Thomas Müller will say goodbye. Nagelsmann is missing many players injured. Midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic is also injured and suffers from a bruised knee. Offensive professional Chris Führich is suspected of having a torn muscle fiber in the adductor area. Returnee Serge Gnabry was not completely convincing against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The national coach is very happy that he has the in-form and self-confident Undav: the accurate joker that he can rely on.
Julien Wolff was at the game in Zenica. He is a football editor and has been reporting from Munich since 2011 about FC Bayernalso about the Bundesliga and the national team.
