Despite being the current reigning champions of the Bundesliga, Leverkusen still seems to be at a disadvantage compared to Bayern Munich in terms of the number of players called up to the German national team.
Last night (May 16th), coach Julian Nagelsmann officially finalized the preliminary squad of 27 players for the German national team in preparation for this summer's Euro 2024. Besides 'forgetting' some stars, the 1987-born strategist allowed Die Mannschaft's fans to admire top stars from major clubs. Among them, the majority of players come from Bundesliga teams, as evidenced by only 6 players coming from other leagues.
Looking at the list, it's easy to notice an interesting fact: the reigning Bundesliga champions Leverkusen only contribute 3 players, a number that is significantly less compared to Bayern Munich, who have 7 players included. Fans of "The German Tanks" may question this, but if one regularly follows Nagelsmann's matches, this situation is easily understandable.
[caption id="attachment_5309" align="alignnone" width="600"] The preliminary squad list of the German national team for Euro 2024. Image: X[/caption]
Firstly, we can mention the coaching style of the German manager. In the past, Julian Nagelsmann had a stint leading Bayern Munich from 2021 to 2023. During his nearly 2-year tenure, the 37-year-old coach guided the team at Allianz Arena to win the Bundesliga title 10 times consecutively in his first season in charge. Having previously worked with top stars, Nagelsmann fully understands the qualities they bring to the national team, thereby enabling them to advance far in a long-term campaign.
[caption id="attachment_5306" align="alignnone" width="600"] Julian Nagelsmann had a period of time working at Bayern Munich. Image: Getty[/caption]
Furthermore, in terms of class, if we speak objectively, it can be asserted that players from the Bayern Munich squad are somewhat "superior" to those from Leverkusen. Not considering the individual qualities of each player, but it's noticeable that in every major event of the German national team, "Die Roten" always appear to be dominant with the players honored to wear the national team jersey.
The evidence is seen in the 2022 World Cup, where former Bundesliga champions dominated completely with 7 players, while Leverkusen had no player making it into the squad. One reason for this decision could be that at that time, the manager of Die Mannschaft was not Julian Nagelsmann but rather Hansi Flick, who was also another coach of Bayern Munich.
[caption id="attachment_5307" align="alignnone" width="600"] The list of participants for the 2022 World Cup of the German national team. Image: X[/caption]
Finally, the coach affirmed that player selection is not solely based on high or low form, but rather on suitability to the style of play that he has built.
In the press conference following the announcement of the selected players, Julian Nagelsmann stated: "We have tried to find the most suitable players for our style of play. The issue is simply which players are best suited for the positions. What do the players who replace them need, what do they have to bring, what is the age structure behind them, what is their perspective? All of this has an impact on the team as a whole."
[caption id="attachment_5308" align="alignnone" width="600"] Julian Nagelsmann selects players based on their suitability to the style of play. Image: Getty[/caption]
This partly explains why the 37-year-old coach did not call up some high-performing stars or past team pillars such as Mats Hummels, Julian Brandt, or Leon Goretzka.
Of course, these are just speculations to grasp the overall situation of why Leverkusen has fewer players called up to the German national team compared to Bayern Munich. Additionally, the aforementioned call-up list by coach Julian Nagelsmann is only preliminary, and no definitive decisions have been made yet. Who knows, things may turn around as the tournament approaches.
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