Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann has announced that Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich will take over as captain of the German national team, which was held by Ilkay Gündogan until the European Championship, after he retired from the Mannschaft at the end of the tournament.
The team’s goal will be occupied by Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André Ter Stegen, who until now was Manuel Neuer’s substitute, who also left the team.
In the first press conference of the training camp to start the Nations League, the coach said that, in choosing Kimmich, they tried to “find players who had a good relationship with all the members of the team”, and since the Bayern player “was already one of the three captains at the Euros and two of them are no longer here”, he is the “logical successor” to Nagelsmann.
“My relationship with Joshua is sometimes exaggerated. He expresses his opinion. They are good and interesting conversations. If he sees something different, he says it. I appreciate that about him. He is honest and direct. In addition to his great ambition, he also does not forget the need to be a child. That is a good mix. He is a family man,” said the coach, who also revealed that the vice-captain, in the absence of Real Madrid defender Antonio Rüdiger, will be Arsenal striker Kai Havertz.
As for goalkeeping, Nagelsmann made it clear that “Marc-André ter Stegen is the starter” and praised that, although “the topic has been debated many times” due to his competition with Neuer, “he had an outstanding performance in Barcelona for many years.”
Asked about the new cycle that the Mannschaft is starting after the departure of Neuer, Toni Kroos, Gündogan and Thomas Müller, the coach described the departure of the four as “a pity”, and that “as a coach you realise relatively quickly that this can happen to one or the other”.
“The door is not closed for any of the players. If you feel like it, the door is never completely closed, but always remains open in sport mode,” he added.
Asked about who will replace Toni Kroos in midfield for Bayern Munich, the former Bayern coach said that Borussia Dortmund midfielder Pascal Gross “is certainly one of the players who can take on” that role, although he recalled that “nobody has to do what Toni Kroos did”, so the team’s game “will change minimally”.
Nagelsmann concluded his speech by saying that in the new Nations League they will try to “consolidate” what was developed in the Euro Cup, with “the idea of trying one or two new game openings towards October”, but “without complicating things”.
“We will repeat the transition after losing the ball. We were the best team in Europe. We want to consolidate that. But we also want to practice the change after winning the ball. We want to improve that. That will be key this week and also in October,” he concluded.
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