Before the latest instalment of a time-honoured international rivalry gearing up for two distinct new beginnings, Jürgen Klopp could not resist sprinkling a little of the old mischief. “The good thing is that we both have the exact same situation,” he said of Xavi Hernández, his counterpart when Germany visit the Netherlands on Thursday night. “We met on Monday and play on Thursday. And the coach knows the players from television. I actually know more of the Dutch players personally than Xavi does. Whether that’s an advantage, I don’t know, but it’s still a fact.”
In his public appearances Klopp has been on irrepressible form since taking the role in July. The task of whipping Germany back into shape has visibly and audibly topped up the energy levels that had drained by the time he departed Liverpool. Klopp, his wit sharp and appetite piqued, looks a far cry from the character who, to most trained eyes, was going through the motions upon his unveiling as Red Bull’s head of global soccer early last year.
Securing Klopp was a coup for the German football federation even if it came with a caveat, issued within seconds of his introduction to the media, that he would not be seen for dust if his family were hounded by the media. Xavi’s arrival in Amsterdam is no less fascinating even if, in the Dutch way, no bones were made by his employers about the fact Pep Guardiola and Arne Slot had been higher in their sights after Ronald Koeman’s departure. He is the Netherlands’ first foreign manager since Ernst Happel’s 10-month stint ended in 1978 but the fit is instinctively pleasing. Even if Guardiola was out of reach, they could land upon another product of the Johan Cruyff school that created modern-day Barcelona.
If Xavi is to take the Netherlands, occasionally exciting but frequently unstable during a World Cup run that shuddered to a halt in the last 32, back to their roots it will require a measure of patience. The pool of players does not allow much else; the recall of Borussia Dortmund’s Joey Veerman, who has not played international football for more than two years, speaks of the need for a technically adept midfield fulcrum but otherwise Xavi has scant scope for surprises. Virgil van Dijk will continue as captain despite considering international retirement during the summer; the head coach’s options may feel more complete when Frenkie de Jong and Donyell Malen have returned from injury.
Xavi has resisted any temptation to engage in analysis of the Netherlands’ performance in the United States. “I don’t talk about the past,” is the standard line, ironically an easier one to roll out if the Nations League opener in Amsterdam brings a performance redolent of headier times. The revolution may have to be conducted with minimal effusive pronouncements from the coach. It is certainly a less dramatic shake-up than the one Klopp, acting like a man licensed to break a few moulds, has enacted before the next fortnight’s four-game baptism.
It raised eyebrows when Klopp named a squad of 44 players for the matches against the Netherlands, Serbia and, home and away, Greece. The expanded unit will be split into two: half will play on Thursday and in Germany’s next game, at home against the Greeks, and the remainder will be involved in the second two games. Only Finn Dahmen, the Augsburg goalkeeper, will be required across the set.
“I want to get to know as many players as possible,” Klopp said. “There is no A or B team. The squads are put together in a way that makes sense on the pitch and in terms of character and experience.”
Club managers feeling squeamish at their players’ workloads during this expanded break will immediately have warmed to Klopp’s split selection. But the priority is to discover who best fits his vision for an intensely committed, front-footed, enthusiastic Nationalmannschaft that places round pegs, even unexpected ones, in round holes. Four players from Freiburg have made his sprawling selection; so has Felix Keidel from promoted Elversberg. Mika Baur of Celtic and the Hoffenheim winger Bambasé Conté were both stunned to receive first call-ups. The Brentford midfielder Vitaly Janelt joins his teammate Kevin Schade in the fray. Sixteen are uncapped.
Last weekend Klopp and his coaching staff convened at their headquarters in Herzogenaurach to watch as many of their charges’ domestic games as possible in one go. Freiburg’s Max Rosenfelder, one of the new brood, acknowledged the aura surrounding Klopp and described him as “a very, very special person”. Even if the mixed lineups prove to lack experience and cohesion, Klopp hopes his charges’ sheer thirst for the task will lift Germany from the doldrums of their most recent World Cup flop.
If he can unite 44 players, why not a whole country? Among Klopp’s many recent pronouncements was the timely intervention in favour of “positive patriotism” that followed an election victory by the anti‑immigration Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party in Saxony‑Anhalt. If it is some time since Germany’s football team have been at their best, perhaps the same may be said for the nation too.
In the Dutch capital, two big‑name managers will take their first steps towards bringing the good times back. “It could be a bit wild, but I accept that, it just has to be lively,” Klopp said. That comes with something approaching a cast‑iron guarantee.
