Former Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann doesn’t need German players to be best friends to be successful

It is not that former Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann has something against friendships, harmony, and those silly team-building exercises where someone falls backward and has to be caught by a bunch of people who always look less than thrilled to be there...it is just that Nagelsmann does not see the need for everyone to be best pals all the time on a team.

“People always want the team to be 11 friends, that’s nonsense in my opinion. A football team is like a school class: you have friends, you are neutral towards others, and then there are some with whom you don’t want to drink cocoa at break. We want to create an atmosphere not by doing team building or constantly talking, but through attractive football. The players will then say they’re excited to play here, and a good spirit develops on its own,” said Nagelsmann (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).

Part of Nagelsmann’s plan to have “attractive” football (the man no doubt wants to say “sexy”, but opted for a more PC term) is to be the aggressor with a relentless attack.

“We want to play very active, very aggressive football. We don’t want to be a team that just sits back and waits for the opponent to make a mistake. We want to provoke things,’ Nagelsmann remarked.

One player who might not be able to help the Germans establish that attacking mindset is Bayern Munich star Joshua Kimmich, who has fallen ill.

“As of now, Josh can’t play. The cold was getting worse and he also had a slightly high temperature. We isolated Joshua from the team,” Nagelsmann said.

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