Jonathan Tah felt like a young boy again after experiencing Jürgen Klopp’s impact on the German national team during training sessions, DIE WELT reported on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old Bayern Munich defender shared his happiness in his personal diary, noting the renewed joy he found under the head coach. “I write down my thoughts in the evening from time to time,” Tah said.
“After training the previous evening, I felt like the little boy who started playing football back then and dreamed of a great career because it was just fun and brought him joy,” Tah told DIE WELT.
Klopp took over the national team as head coach, recording one win, two draws, and a loss in his first four matches. The team travels to Belgrade on Thursday ahead of their Nations League fixture against Serbia on Friday at 20.45 local time UTC+1, broadcast on RTL.
Klopp, Tah, and Florian Wirtz appeared on stage at the Adidas headquarters in Herzogenaurach on Wednesday before an audience of about 1,000 employees. The appearance marked an official goodbye event as the German Football Association’s 72-year partnership with the sportswear manufacturer concludes ahead of a switch to Nike in 2027.
Klopp responded with lighthearted remarks about winter training trousers and compression stockings.
In his initial team talk earlier in the week, Klopp emphasized that his team should be the one no one wants to play against. “In an ideal world, we start on Friday,” Klopp said Wednesday regarding the upcoming fixture.
The match at Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade will take place in front of a restricted crowd due to UEFA sanctions against the Serbian Football Association for racist and discriminatory behavior. General ticket sales are barred, permitting only children under 15 in organized school and club groups to attend alongside a delegation of 200 German supporters, including 50 loyal fans, in a stadium expected to hold 5,000 total spectators.
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