Nagelsmann Aims to Push German Football

 36-year-old Julian Nagelsmann started his rescue mission as the new coach of the struggling German national football team spreading optimism.

Despite facing the delicate task of leading the wavering 2014 world champions to the 2024 UEFA Euro, the second youngest coach in the history of the national association spoke of "pushing the entire nation."

This Friday the former Bayern coach and successor of Hansi Flick signed a short-term contract until the end of July 2024 but didn't rule out to stay longer if things work out.

58-year-old Flick departed two weeks ago following a series of disappointing friendlies and a painful group exit at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

"First we talk about a successful Euro tournament and if all parties are happy, it's possible to continue," Nagelsmann said.

"The main issue is to play enthusiastic football based on a game idea the players get along with easily. Good football needs no complicated ideas but a solid fundament," the former Hoffenheim and Leipzig coach added when officially presented.

The new German coach spoke about the privilege of taking care of the 2024 Euro's hosting team "as I am full of anticipation." Playing a major is naturally coming along with ambitions, he said.

Association sporting director Rudi Voller talked about Nagelsmann as "the desired solution" and admitted: "We can be happy he was on the market in this situation."

Voller and association president Bernd Neuendorf talked of the new arrival being on fire from the first moment on.

The new coach said he feels to some extent reminded of his rescue mission in February 2016 when he achieved last-minute success for the struggling first-tier side of Hoffenheim.

Nagelsmann announced to use his that-time experience "as we chose a possibly unusual approach for a relegation battle."

While the media might have talked about a crisis, "we didn't but instead went for a much more optimistic approach," he said.

Before taking off for a tour meeting the United States and Mexico in October, the new German coach announced keeping Barcelona midfielder Ilkay Gundogan as the team's captain.

Nagelsmann's announcement might be bad news for Bayern's Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, and Thomas Muller because Gundogan and Youngster Jamal Musiala are seen as regulars.

"We want to create presence in the opponent's box and make it annoying to play against us. We talk about a healthy amount of aggressiveness with and against the ball," Nagelsmann said while telling the media to be optimistic to reach goals.

Considering the players' quality and the latest 2-1 victory over France, things don't look too bad, he said.

He is aware of having to adapt to the situation "of not to have the players around every day and I have learned from mistakes I did at Bayern."

During his Bayern time, Nagelsmann was accused of being too flippant. As the new German coach, he appeared solidly diplomatic.