League leader in the Bundesliga, flawless record in the Champions League. Julian Nagelsmann’s interim balance sheet as Bayern coach is positive – with the exception of the cup debacle in Gladbach, which the 34-year-old was following from the couch due to the corona.
In a detailed interview with the first German-language edition of the US cult magazine Sports Illustrated Nagelsmann spoke, among other things, about the expectations of himself and his steep ascent at a young age.
Julian Nagelsmann in Sports Illustrated over…
… factors that are most important to him: “The most important thing is empathy, being able to deal with people well and speak in front of a group. In addition, certain soft skills that are needed in such a world club, after all, there are enough characters at Bayern who occupy important positions in the club. They have to you have a good rapport. And you need a game idea that you want to convey. There are things that have to be innate in order to be able to take on a leadership position. For me, for example, there is an indicator Already during school: If someone gives a presentation in front of the group, you can already see whether this is someone who will one day have what it takes for a management position – or someone who can do a great job, but maybe in another Position.”
Julian Nagelsmann wants to be with FC Bayern in five years
… aspects that surprised him the most in Munich: “How quickly I was integrated into the club, team and staff. I only knew that in this way from Hoffenheim, where I grew up.”
… the place where he will see himself in five years: “I still hope at Bayern. I don’t want to be a professional coach until I’m 70. But in five years I have plans to do so. Ideally at Bayern.”
… his own expectations: “As a coach I strive for perfection, I am rarely satisfied. That is also the driving force behind FC Bayern, a club that has won a lot in the past: to keep getting better. Of course, I prefer to shape an era than to be sacked after a year. The difference to other clubs is that winning alone at Bayern is not enough. That is something you have to get used to: that the game has a certain attractiveness and that you win with sovereignty. “
Nagelsmann: “I earned 2600 euros gross for a long time”
… his transfer fee and salary negotiations: “The most important thing for me is that I don’t start comparing. That leads to dissatisfaction – regardless of the financial sphere. I know the other side and have earned 700 euros as a player and 2600 euros as a coach for a while gross per month – full-time, mind you. I know exactly what it is like. My question to myself on all contracts has always been: Am I satisfied with what I get and is it appropriate for what I do? And if I give up a few percentage points of my salary for that, I’m still satisfied with the overall package. I also advise every player not to compare, because in the end, at this level, it’s not about the question of whether I get something from my salary to buy food, but to be satisfied with what you get. “
… his match plans before games: “The players don’t always have to know every tiny detail because they have a single-player quality, which in many cases is enough to win a game. When a cross comes and Lewandowski hits the ball from the third floor with his head nothing that I write on the match schedule. He can just do that. “
… the difference to its predecessors at FC Bayern: “As a coach I’m certainly completely different from Jupp Heynckes, for example. But that’s also because Jupp Heynckes is significantly older than me and has different interests. It’s quite normal that, as a 34-year-old, I have an urge to move around Training on the goal bolt or even skateboarding if I feel like it. “
Nagelsmann: “Then I would probably be the U19 coach again today”
… his own development potential: “I should have more conversations with individual players, sometimes I don’t do that a bit too often at the moment. I’m basically a very open and communicative guy who maintains a good relationship with his players and is very approachable. I’m not a coach – even them there is in top football – that locks itself in and has nothing to do with the players outside of training. But there can be a little more, especially in detail. “
… its steep ascent: “The commitment in Hoffenheim came very quickly, the whole circumstance with the almost certain relegation at the beginning plus the football teacher training, those were a few months in which I had to dig a lot. That could also have gone wrong Everyone that I would have become a Bayern coach if we had been relegated back then. But: I wouldn’t be anything. Then I would probably be a U19 coach again today, which would also be okay. But not a Bundesliga coach. 100 percent not Moving to Leipzig was perfect for me. It would have been a mistake to take over a very, very large club after Hoffenheim – I had an offer from abroad. “
… Real Madrid’s interest in him: “The big difference is: If you take over the professional team like me in Hoffenheim – where I was a junior coach and knew every laundress and groundskeeper – the start-up time is extremely short. Because you know exactly who to speak to when you have a hat If you want your vegetable soup in the afternoon, you go to the cook you already know. When you first have to get to know everyone in a club, that’s a different dimension. That’s why it was right that I reach a higher shelf than Hoffenheim , but not the highest that might have been possible. “
