bavarian foot works 
16-05-2024 14:58
16-05-2024 14:58
Julian Nagelsmann believes he’s built "entertaining" Germany squad with ambition to win at EURO 2024
Former Bayern Munich coach and current German national team boss Julian Nagelsmann announced his “preliminary squad” of 27 players (one player will still get dropped) for the EURO 2024 competition this summer.
The manager talked over his process for putting together the team.
“As a coach, you have to try to put together the 26 most suitable character traits. We believe that players fulfill the role defined for them in the best possible way. In some cases we made bold decisions in March that started to take effect in the 10 days we spent together back then,” Nagelsmann said during his press conference (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “We also had the working atmosphere assessed by other employees, people who have been there for a long time. And their feedback was that it was the best working atmosphere they had in years. Therefore, we only made a few changes compared to March. We are very happy that many of the decisions in March worked out and that we only had small adjustments left to make.” Nagelsmann touched on the roles for several players including Thomas Müller, Jonathan Tah and Antonio Rüdiger.
“Thomas is a connector. He has a good connection with everyone. He’s always fired up and always wants to play football. He always has actions and moments that are special. He gets along with everyone, speaks for the team and gives feedback. He’s not just the ‘good mood uncle’, he won’t be a starter — but will come off the bench and bring his qualities,” Nagelsmann said. “We have decided that Jonathan Tah and Toni Rüdiger, if they are fit, will be our starting center-backs.”
The coach did have to factor in several fitness issues when compiling his rosters. Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sané, and Toni Kroos all had some questions about their health. For Kroos, it had less to do with any injury, but more on any fatigue or wear-and-tear he might have accumulated over the the course of the season with Real Madrid at 34-years-old.
“Leroy and Jamal will not play this weekend (against Hoffenheim). With Leroy, we have to see whether he can be present at every training session. He has an exceptional quality that I did not want to do without. We hope he’ll be almost pain-free. I’m also in close contact with Jamal, our doctor and Bayern doctor,” said Nagelsmann. “When you hug Toni Kroos, he feels like steel. He doesn’t want to be rested. I don’t want any players who need maintenance. We’ll make sure to manage the workload after such a long season. But generally speaking, he’s in top shape. But if Toni were to be tired, Pascal Groß is a player who embodies a lot of his qualities. We also have Aleksandar Pavlović — I hope Toni Kroos will give him a bit of a hand for the future.”
When asked why he kept four goalkeepers, Nagelsmann indicated that he likes to split the workload in training.
Finally, Nagelsmann thinks he has put together a team that will — at a minimum — be entertaining to watch.
“As a coach, I want my team to entertain me. I’m the first who wants to win, but I also want to say that it was an interesting game. As a coach I thought it was terrible to say we won, but it was boring as hell. We will try to win the title, I promise you that — but we may also be eliminated in some knockout phase and I’d still rate it as a good European Championship. If we inspire people and we all, including myself, identify with the team, then it might be possible to rate the tournament as a success, even if we don’t win the title,” said Nagelsmann. “When we take part in a tournament, we should want to win it. I think the squad is very good, otherwise I wouldn’t have put it together this way. We played very well against France.
“Of course, in the end it is difficult to predict how the team will deal with the situation and the opening game. Scotland are a very good team, they are no longer the classic team of ten years ago. That game will be very important to start the tournament well and take people with us. I have the idea and belief that we can win this title.” Looking for more thoughts and analysis of Bayern Munich’s final Bundesliga match of the season vs. Hoffenheim? We have you covered! Check out the Bavarian Podcast Works — Preview Show to get the latest news and info, plus our idea of how this game might play out. You can get the Bavarian Podcast Works — Preview Show on Spotify or below:
The manager talked over his process for putting together the team.
“As a coach, you have to try to put together the 26 most suitable character traits. We believe that players fulfill the role defined for them in the best possible way. In some cases we made bold decisions in March that started to take effect in the 10 days we spent together back then,” Nagelsmann said during his press conference (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “We also had the working atmosphere assessed by other employees, people who have been there for a long time. And their feedback was that it was the best working atmosphere they had in years. Therefore, we only made a few changes compared to March. We are very happy that many of the decisions in March worked out and that we only had small adjustments left to make.” Nagelsmann touched on the roles for several players including Thomas Müller, Jonathan Tah and Antonio Rüdiger.
“Thomas is a connector. He has a good connection with everyone. He’s always fired up and always wants to play football. He always has actions and moments that are special. He gets along with everyone, speaks for the team and gives feedback. He’s not just the ‘good mood uncle’, he won’t be a starter — but will come off the bench and bring his qualities,” Nagelsmann said. “We have decided that Jonathan Tah and Toni Rüdiger, if they are fit, will be our starting center-backs.”
The coach did have to factor in several fitness issues when compiling his rosters. Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sané, and Toni Kroos all had some questions about their health. For Kroos, it had less to do with any injury, but more on any fatigue or wear-and-tear he might have accumulated over the the course of the season with Real Madrid at 34-years-old.
“Leroy and Jamal will not play this weekend (against Hoffenheim). With Leroy, we have to see whether he can be present at every training session. He has an exceptional quality that I did not want to do without. We hope he’ll be almost pain-free. I’m also in close contact with Jamal, our doctor and Bayern doctor,” said Nagelsmann. “When you hug Toni Kroos, he feels like steel. He doesn’t want to be rested. I don’t want any players who need maintenance. We’ll make sure to manage the workload after such a long season. But generally speaking, he’s in top shape. But if Toni were to be tired, Pascal Groß is a player who embodies a lot of his qualities. We also have Aleksandar Pavlović — I hope Toni Kroos will give him a bit of a hand for the future.”
When asked why he kept four goalkeepers, Nagelsmann indicated that he likes to split the workload in training.
Finally, Nagelsmann thinks he has put together a team that will — at a minimum — be entertaining to watch.
“As a coach, I want my team to entertain me. I’m the first who wants to win, but I also want to say that it was an interesting game. As a coach I thought it was terrible to say we won, but it was boring as hell. We will try to win the title, I promise you that — but we may also be eliminated in some knockout phase and I’d still rate it as a good European Championship. If we inspire people and we all, including myself, identify with the team, then it might be possible to rate the tournament as a success, even if we don’t win the title,” said Nagelsmann. “When we take part in a tournament, we should want to win it. I think the squad is very good, otherwise I wouldn’t have put it together this way. We played very well against France.
“Of course, in the end it is difficult to predict how the team will deal with the situation and the opening game. Scotland are a very good team, they are no longer the classic team of ten years ago. That game will be very important to start the tournament well and take people with us. I have the idea and belief that we can win this title.” Looking for more thoughts and analysis of Bayern Munich’s final Bundesliga match of the season vs. Hoffenheim? We have you covered! Check out the Bavarian Podcast Works — Preview Show to get the latest news and info, plus our idea of how this game might play out. You can get the Bavarian Podcast Works — Preview Show on Spotify or below: