Julian Nagelsmann immediately has to say goodbye to his here-and-now principle. For the national coach, the focus exclusively on the sporting interests of the national soccer team is over.
With the return from America on Thursday, the logistical planning phase for the period before and during the home European Championship 2024 begins. The new head coach certainly does not want to be talked into this. “I will get involved when decisions have to be made,” said Nagelsmann before his second international match in office on Wednesday (2:00 a.m./ARD) against Mexico. “I will also make the decisions,” added the 36-year-old.
Test match opponents, training camp, team quarters – many things still need to be fixed so that the summer fairy tale 2.0 can become reality from June 14th to July 14th, 2024. Since Campo Bahia became a myth as a domicile for the 2014 World Cup victory in Brazil, but even more so since the mistakes with the hotel in the forest of Watutinki in Russia in 2018 and the lonely Zulal oasis in Qatar last year, the importance of a well-thought-out tournament has become clear -Logistics obvious.
European Championship group draw on December 2nd
In terms of hierarchy, DFB sports director Rudi Völler has taken over these tasks from Oliver Bierhoff. But Nagelsmann makes it clear how important the topic itself is to him. “I have no doubt that the DFB already has good ideas and will present them to me soon. Then I can raise or lower my thumb. As of now, I would rather raise it than lower it,” said the 36-year-old. There are many employees at the DFB “who present this to me on a silver platter,” said the national coach.
The European Championship is coming faster than some people realize. There are no longer many adjusting screws. This year, before the European Championship group draw on December 2nd in Hamburg, the only tests left are against Turkey (November 18th) in Berlin and against Austria (November 21st) in Vienna. In the European Championship year, two more test matches will be played in the second half of March. Locations and opponents are not yet known. Traditionally, this planning phase is against sporting heavyweights, for example of the caliber of Holland or France.
The hot preparation for the European Championship begins after the end of the Bundesliga season with a training camp, including two further test matches. The opponents are traditionally only selected when the European Championship group opponents have been determined. If possible, they should be blueprints for the tournament opponents.
EM quarters not abroad
Nagelsmann wants “absolute calm” for the training camp. According to reports, it will not go abroad as has recently been the case. The EM host is preparing at home. It has not yet been announced, but it is certain that the home ground of supplier Adidas in Herzogenaurach will be occupied again during the tournament. A bad omen? The DFB team lived and trained there during the 2021 European Championships and during the international matches in the summer of 2022. In total there were only two wins in eight games.
But Nagelsmann is unlikely to emulate Jürgen Klinsmann and overturn the district. Before the summer fairy tale of 2006, the great national coach reformer decreed that people would not live in the Bergisches Land, as his predecessor Völler had planned, but rather in the heart of the tournament, Berlin. A radical decision – back then.
However, the DFB entourage will not be able to live in the capital in 2024. UEFA regulations state that in order to keep travel activity to a minimum, each team will stay in the regional cluster where the group games take place. For Germany, this is the southern region with the first three games in Munich (June 14th), Stuttgart (June 19th) and Frankfurt (June 23rd). The venue will be in Berlin in the round of 16 at the earliest and, if possible, in the final on July 14th. Nagelsmann would definitely raise his thumb for that.
