Klopp backs German talent Explains Germany's tactics

Oct 4

Jürgen Klopp says he had not expected this group to play such football after only a week. Rejecting earlier claims that German football lacked talent, he says the 44 players he worked with over two weeks lack many things but certainly not talent, and want to work hard and succeed. He says Germany has found a path it must follow consistently: tactics can help beat opponents even when the team is not better than them. He praises the Serbia performance, challenges dismissals of the opposition as small, and says Germany scored twice and could have scored more. Turning to Greece, he says there were further opportunities, declines to label the side big or small, but judges it unlikely to become world champions while saying he means no offense. He concludes that Germany has taken a first step.

At his October 4 post-Greece press conference in Thessaloniki, Jürgen Klopp rejects claims that Germany lacks football talent. In the SID excerpt he says he worked with 44 players who want to work hard and succeed, and outlines a tactical approach for defeating opponents even when Germany is not the better side. He praises the Serbia performance and challenges dismissals of that win, then qualifies his assessment of Greece and concludes that Germany has taken a first step. These are the coach's assessment and intended approach, not proof that Germany is already superior to other national teams. Tagesschau's complete match report quotes the same talent assessment and the coach's positive two-week review, retaining the remaining finishing and November-selection uncertainty.