The soccer World Cup starts in November. The unusual date in winter changes the schedule. For the Bundesliga clubs, who also play in the European Cup, it means stress. There can be up to 22 games by then. Bayern coach Nagelsmann is therefore considering strategies.
Julian Nagelsmann sees the coaches of the clubs active in the European football cup facing a very demanding task at the start of the permanent English weeks leading up to the World Cup in Qatar. It is important to “keep the players’ hunger and desire for football alive,” said the FC Bayern Munich coach shortly before the start of the Champions League.
“I want the national coaches to get hungry players in winter, not only Hansi Flick, but also the others,” said Nagelsmann and judged: “It’s a demanding task.”
Starting with this weekend’s top Bundesliga game against Borussia Mönchengladbach, the FC Bayern Munich internationals can expect up to twelve Bundesliga appearances, six in the Champions League and one or two games in the DFB Cup. There are also two international matches at the end of September. All in all, a player like Joshua Kimmich could appear 22 times by mid-November. And then comes the World Cup finals with a maximum of seven games.
Nagelsmann wants to react actively to the special burden. “We’re trying to get the players used to not playing, even if they’ve played well,” said the 35-year-old: “It has to become normal in the coming months.” The players should also get used to rotation and breaks in their own interest.
Nagelsmann also wants to adapt the work processes in everyday life, for example through shorter sessions in game preparation. The main thing that will be missing is training time between games, when the main thing is to regenerate. “Training is not so unimportant in order to be able to deliver a higher level to the spectators,” remarked the football teacher: “You often complain that football is getting worse and that there are inflationary games.”
Nagelsmann is also looking forward to the tight game plan, which after the first weeks of the season with only one game each is now happening in quick succession. “Games are nice, that’s the icing on the cake,” he said. The challenge that from November 20th to December 18th a World Cup tournament is embedded in the middle of a season for the first time, everyone, players and coaches, would have to accept: “That’s whining at a high level, we still have a great job.”
