Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann says call-up for RB Leipzig’s Janis Blaswich was well-deserved

When former Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann released his roster for the German national team last week, there were quite a few observers surprised that the squad called up four goalkeeper — and the list did not include Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer or Fulham FC’s Bernd Leno.

Instead, RB Leipzig’s Janis Blaswich was one of the quartet, who received the nod and Nagelsmann thinks it was well deserved:

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“Janis is a goalkeeper, who is a good footballer, but is also very strong on the line. and above all, he has a very good charisma. I haven’t got to know him personally yet, only as an opponent in the games, and he was positively crazy after games,” Nagelsmann told the DFB. “He always got extremely upset when they didn’t win the games and I’ve always been impressed by the way he stands in goal. It was not an easy task for him, as Peter Gulacsi was a very consistent goalkeeper, and he had to fill a big gap.

He did an outstanding job at Leipzig and more than filled the gap. He plays at a very consistently good level in the Champions League and the Bundesliga, and with Bernd Leno out, we have the option of seeing another goalkeeper. We have a lot of good goalkeepers in Germany, there are even more candidates. We have now decided on Janis and are looking forward to it.”

Blaswich joined FC Barcelona’s Marc-André ter Stegen, Hoffenheim’s Oliver Baumann, and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Kevin Trapp in camp.