Spring cleaning in the DFB squad
The risky radicalism of the national coach
A comment from Sebastian Schneider
March 14, 2024, 6:31 p.m
A quartet from VfB Stuttgart, the exclusion of Leon Goretzka and several BVB stars: national coach Julian Nagelsmann is taking a risk with the first DFB squad of the year. But it is also the return of something that seemed almost lost in the national team.
The German national soccer team’s last successful tournament to date was a while ago now. Strictly speaking, it has been seven years since the Confederations Cup in Russia, when the national coach was still called Joachim Löw. The remarkable thing was: It was the last time that there was a fundamental change in the DFB squad. Until now: When announcing the squad for the friendly games against France and the Netherlands, national coach Julian Nagelsmann expressed similar radicalism.
At that time it was like this: Löw didn’t care about the tournament in terms of sport, instead he tried out wild personnel: The Confed Cup was “a stopover, a warm-up for the World Cup mission,” he said at the time. The “perspective squad”, which made Sandro Wagner a national player, won the title, but it had little lasting effect. The 2018 mission failed miserably with an exit in the group phase, and the national team was never able to really shake off the ghosts of the Russian World Cup.
Now the situation today could hardly be more different. Because national coach Nagelsmann has a problem. Unlike Löw, he no longer has time for a “prospect squad”. Before the home European Championships starting in June, he only has a delicate balancing act left: he has to change something, but it can’t be too much. On the trip to the USA and for the games against Turkey and Austria, Nagelsmann left the basic squad structure untouched and even brought back Rio world champion Mats Hummels. The success was limited: the offense remained sluggish, the defense shaky. The national coach also saw it that way. There seemed to be no alternative to the next new beginning that he now announced.
Spring cleaning in the DFB squad
And now? Nagelsmann does what is logical for him: he changes, but not randomly. With every squad member it becomes clear that the national coach has defined fixed roles – either the player fits or he doesn’t. Unlike Löw or his predecessor Hansi Flick, Nagelsmann can be tough at this point. His employment will presumably end after the all-important home European Championship in the summer, which, in the best case scenario, should unite football, the country and the continent. After that there will probably be the next DFB change, Nagelsmann will probably be the club coach again.
When the squad was announced, he expressed an exciting thought: It’s not the national coach who makes the decision, but the players. If they play well, he is just the executive organ. Of course this is an understatement, but it shows the basic idea behind the line-up. Nobody is at the home European Championships just because they were there for a long time beforehand. It’s about form, mentality and flow, sensitivities don’t play a role. In doing so, he also leaves the door open for everyone who is not nominated now.
Nagelsmann already hinted at it in the ZDF “Sportstudio” and later explained it in the big “Spiegel” interview. “There will definitely be one or two people who many think will definitely be there,” he told the news magazine. The result is a kind of spring cleaning in the national team’s squad: with the exception of Niclas Füllkrug, the recently fickle BVB professionals around Mats Hummels, Julian Brandt and Emre Can are thrown out. FC Bayern is also getting a fresh shake-up: Serge Gnabry, who has been injured for a long time, and the resurgent Leon Goretzka currently have no place. Thomas Müller remains against it because he can accept a backup role.
“Courage is the anagram of luck”
The basis for his new squad is the return of Toni Kroos. And Nagelsmann emphasizes that the 2014 world champion is there because of his achievements, not because of his name. The 34-year-old Real Madrid strategist can control a game like former NFL giant Tom Brady, but is similarly vulnerable when it comes to speed. That’s why he needs a worker at his side. That will be Leverkusen’s Robert Andrich or Brighton’s Pascal Groß, perhaps also Stuttgart’s Waldemar Anton. But the help doesn’t come from FC Bayern. Goretzka follows the international matches on television, Joshua Kimmich moves to the right-back position. Nobody at BVB is pushing for the role either.
The radical performance principle also means that six newcomers find their way into the DFB team. The young Maximilian Beier is currently inspiring in Hoffenheim’s attack, 19-year-old Aleksander Pavlovic in FC Bayern’s midfield. Jan-Niklas Beste collected a considerable number of scorer points for the supposed relegation candidate Heidenheim. And: He could travel with him as a specialist with his dangerous corners and free kicks (like David Odonkor in 2006). There are also Stuttgart’s Anton, Maximilian Mittelstädt (according to Nagelsmann, currently statistically one of the four best left-backs in the world) and the robust and accurate striker Deniz Undav.
But that’s not all, Nagelsmann also uses Leverkusen’s successful team. Jonathan Tah will probably form the central defense alongside Real Madrid’s Antonio Rüdiger, Andrich’s role is clearly defined and Florian Wirtz could be a part of the DFB team’s most exciting puzzle. There are three places in his tenth position, one of which will probably go to İlkay Gündoğan, whom Nagelsmann confirmed as captain despite the return of Manuel Neuer. So there are only two left – and the question of who will get them? Wirtz, Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sané or Stuttgart’s Chris Führich? A difficult question.
All of this also entails great risks. The national coach is driven by a problem: he no longer has time. There are only 92 days until the opening game against Scotland. Until then, a new hierarchy must develop in the team. And poker, especially betting on form, could be dangerous: What happens if Leverkusen or Stuttgart collapse violently in the next few months? Then Nagelsmann has to start all over again, there certainly isn’t enough time for that.
The radical change has to work. His predecessor Flick had burned his fingers during the experiments. This shouldn’t happen to Nagelsmann, the current new beginning is already an admission that what happened before didn’t work. But one thing makes us confident about the national coach’s approach: Nagelsmann obviously has a clear idea and clear roles in his head. He said it about the jerseys, but it also applies to the squad: “Courage is the anagram of luck.” One can only hope that this is true.