Former Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann is now getting deep into his tenure as the German national team boss — and, of course, he is attempting to turn the page over to a “next generation” of players, who will take the reins from Thomas Müller, Manuel Neuer, Toni Kroos, and İlkay Gündoğan.
“We cannot expect the same opponent as at the EUROs. They will have a more attacking approach tomorrow. At the EUROs, they sat very deep against us. It also depends a lot on us how far we can push them back. We’ll also have a different lineup as some players have left. But there won’t be a big change,” said Nagelsmann (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “The first game after the EUROs is important in terms of how we can keep the momentum going. We deliberately didn’t do anything new in training. We have very little time to train and want to consolidate the things we have done in the tournament. We want to see the enthusiasm of the EUROs again.
“It’s good that we are setting such high goals. I cannot understand some of the statements made by experts. When a coach says he wants to be world champion and is criticized for it, I think that’s crazy. I would like to read the headlines if I had said I didn’t want to be world champion.”
Pascal Großn will be one of the players that Nagelsmann will look to in hopes of easing the loss of those aforementioned veterans.
“Pascal will play. He will not be Kroos, but Pascal. I don’t need anyone to replace Toni Kroos. Niclas Füllkrug will play for Ilkay Gündogan in a different formation. He won’t do things like Ilkay either. Everyone can do what they are good at,” said Nagelsmann. “Groß’s extremely good on the ball and has an eye for through balls behind the backline. Pascal isn’t afraid of getting the ball. You have to want the ball to create something. At Brighton, he had a coach [De Zerbi] who had very good ideas. Talking to Pascal is fun. He’s crazy about football and can assess himself very well. He’s a great guy.”
X account @iMiaSanMia noted that Germany’s attacking group will consist of West Ham United’s Füllkrug as the striker, Arsenal FC’s Kai Havertz as the attacking midfielder, and Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz and Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala alternating on different sides as wingers:
Nagelsmann says Niclas Füllkrug will start up front while Kai Havertz will have a role in attacking midfield. But in some situations there will be two strikers. Musiala and Wirtz will play on the right and left and switch positions to occupy the spaces in a flexible way.
The times, they are a changin’.
Looking for more thoughts and analysis on the current state of Bayern Munich under Vincent Kompany? What about four key storylines to follow after international break? Or…what about why Jamal Musiala snubbing by the Ballon d’Or committee might create some longer-term issues for the Bavarians? Great, then we have you covered with this latest edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show! You can get the podcast on Patreon, Spotify, or below:
