A first squad is always something special. For Julian Nagelsmann, this also meant that he had to prove something that national coach Julian Nagelsmann had not yet proven, perhaps because it is only partially in his nature: a steady hand.
When he presented his selection for the home European Championship in Berlin on Thursday, he spoke of the special “chance” that a national coach has, namely to always put the squad together “the way you want”, provided that you have a German passport. He wanted to explain his current top selection principle, which relies on clear role models. However, Nagelsmann did not talk about the risk of getting bogged down in the possibilities. In the almost eight months of his work, it seemed at times as if he could fall into exactly this trap.
A freedom to bet on the future
In the here and now it was a good sign, one of rigor and clarity, that he wants to pick up exactly where he and his team left off in March, with the victories against France and the Netherlands. That still makes it a legitimate question for the national coach as to how it can be that the same Mats Hummels, whom he proclaimed to be a leading figure before the trip to the USA in the fall, is no longer important enough to be there at all – It cannot be due to the principle of momentum that Nagelsmann formulated on another occasion (as with Leon Goretzka). The national coach, looking for support, found what he was looking for elsewhere.
This text comes from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
The return of Toni Kroos, you can already say that much, has changed the national team at its core. He is the figure who gave the entire team a new frame of reference and meaning, the role from which everyone else (newly) derives themselves. This applies specifically to the offensive, where Wirtz, Musiala and others can now play freed from the burden of responsibility, but it also indirectly radiates into all other areas because Nagelsmann felt more freedom overall to bet on the future.
Kroos could therefore prove to be a great stroke of luck for the national coach, although it must be added that he was perhaps only possible in this form because, first under Hansi Flick and then under Nagelsmann himself, all certainty and all structure had been lost.
Can something big come from this, which the national coach also spoke so hopefully about on Thursday? At least the prospects for this are better than they have been for a long time, which also has to do with the overall refreshing overall picture that German football currently offers. For Nagelsmann, this is perhaps more valuable than a special detail in the squad: the chance of a special moment.
