A single remark by TV pundit Jürgen Klopp caused quite a stir—one that reached all the way to Houston, where the German national team kicks off its World Cup campaign against Curaçao on Sunday. But national team coach Julian Nagelsmann showed himself to be more mature in this regard as well on the eve of his World Cup debut.
When the streaming service Magenta presented its big panel of experts in the studio in Ismaning, host Johannes B. Kerner had a hard time reining in the verbally agile Thomas Müller and Jürgen Klopp as they chatted away, driven by sheer fun. It was a small preview of what was happening around the opening match between Mexico and South Africa—and what also reached the DFB team the day before Germany’s World Cup opener against Curacao.
Nagelsmann wants to say “nothing” about Klopp and Müller
Klopp and Müller had engaged in a lively discussion about the German lineup, which—as Klopp emphasized—is “still” decided by the national team coach. A little slip of the tongue, like in school when the rowdy kids in the back row let loose with cheeky comments they hadn’t thought through in the heat of the moment. And who then get red-faced when the teacher punishes them with a note in the class register. After all, it wasn’t meant that way.
Klopp and Müller—who had been thoroughly amused by his fellow expert’s choice of words—need not fear a note or even a reprimand. Nor were they subjected to an aggressive opening salvo from Nagelsmann, who refused to be drawn out of his shell. The way he responded to the question in question at the press conference in the heart of Houston’s World Cup stadium, however, clearly indicated that the relevant segment of the broadcast had neither escaped his notice nor pleased him—after all, Klopp, currently employed by Red Bull, has long been regarded as a sort of shadow national team coach. Instead of answering the question, he posed a counter-question and then replied that, like the reporter, he also had “nothing” to say on the matter.
National coach offers only a “hint” at most
When a journalist from England later made a second attempt, the 38-year-old did, of course, elaborate a bit more. “I have my opinion on this, but I’m not going to say it. We have plenty of experts. They’re both cool guys who’ve had a lot of success. They can talk about whatever they want to talk about,” said Nagelsmann. He and his team are focusing on the work ahead of them. “You have to live with certain things.”
Nagelsmann has been seen acting more impulsively and aggressively than he did on the eve of his first World Cup match. Rudi Völler, DFB sporting director and close confidant of the national team coach, had said days earlier that Nagelsmann was no longer as “naive” as he was in his early days as head of the DFB squad. Since Saturday, it has become even clearer what Völler meant by that. The earlier Nagelsmann might have fired a direct shot at Klopp. The more seasoned Nagelsmann, at most, took a subtle jab when he praised Lothar Matthäus—who is, of course, also serving as an expert analyst at this tournament—for a stance on Jamal Musiala that contradicted a different assessment expressed by Klopp.
DFB congratulations on his 88th birthday and the 17th World Cup
In general, Nagelsmann came across as strikingly defensive. For instance, when asked repeatedly by the many foreign journalists when the World Cup would be considered a success for the DFB and where the German team actually ranked among the favorites. The national team coach wants his team to provide the answer on the field—and trusts the positive impressions he gathered from his team during the past weeks of preparation.
There was only one thing that really brought Nagelsmann out of his shell: When journalist Hartmut Scherzer, who was present in the room, conveyed double congratulations from national team spokesperson Franziska Wülle on his 88th birthday and his 17th World Cup appearance, he warmed up—and even answered a question from the birthday boy about the starting lineup.
