Jürgen Klopp is searching for his new DFB squad among 44 players. However, the first two matches show that one Bayern star holds a special position.
Jürgen Klopp has completely reshaped the competition within the German national team. The new national team coach nominated a total of 44 players for his first international window, with numerous pros set to prove themselves in the four Nations League matches.
After the first two games, however, one thing is already clear: Klopp can experiment a lot around Joshua Kimmich—the DFB team can hardly do without its captain at the moment.
Even in the 1-1 draw against the Netherlands, Kimmich was among Germany’s strongest players. The 31-year-old provided structure in central midfield and set up the opening goal with a strong diagonal pass.
In the disappointing 0-1 loss to Greece , however, things were far from smooth for the Bayern Munich pro. Among other things, Kimmich gave the ball away in a dangerous area, and he also unluckily deflected Dimitrios Kourbelis’s decisive shot.
Nevertheless, it was once again clear just how important Kimmich is to Germany’s build-up play. Especially against the deep-lying Greeks, the DFB team lacked pace, creativity, and unexpected solutions for long stretches of the game.
Schweinsteiger: “The only one who’s a sure starter for me is Kimmich.”
After the historic defeat, Bastian Schweinsteiger made it clear just how important Kimmich is to him in Klopp’s new German national team. “The only one who’s a sure starter for me is Kimmich,” explained the 2014 World Cup champion.
The former Bayern Munich pro sees a heavy reliance on the German captain, especially when it comes to building up play. “When we have to play out from the back, the only one who can make creative passes is Kimmich. He’s the only one,” Schweinsteiger said on ARD. “If he’s not there, it gets difficult.”
This fits with the current distribution of roles under Klopp. While numerous positions are being reassigned, Kimmich’s position isn’t even up for discussion. “We see him as a midfielder,” Klopp had already made clear before his debut. The possibility of him playing right back was not discussed at all in their conversations.
This means the club and the national team are on the same page for the first time in quite a while. Vincent Kompany also consistently deploys Kimmich in central midfield at FC Bayern.
This makes the second week of Klopp’s intensive training camp all the more interesting. After all, Kimmich, of all players, will no longer be part of the squad for the upcoming matches against Serbia and, once again, Greece. However, this is not a reaction to the loss, but was planned from the start as part of the scheduled roster change.
Kimmich himself would have liked to continue, though. “Of course, I would have liked to stay, but I also understand that the coach simply wants to get to know other players. That was the plan from the start—that we have a large squad and that we’d rotate through it. So I’ll be cheering them on from home,” explained the Bayern star.
Until the very end, the 31-year-old was even hoping for a change of plans: “I was holding out a little hope of staying right up until the end. I’m heading home for now, and then we’ll see. I won’t be going far because the kids are starting school. So I’ll probably be at home and might come to the game on Thursday, depending on whether I’m there.”
For Klopp, the second week is likely to be an interesting test: He’ll have to build his new DFB team for the first time without the player who has been his anchor in the center so far. Especially after the problems against Greece, this could provide insight into what alternatives Germany actually has in central midfield alongside Kimmich.