Jürgen Klopp speaks on all 11 new Germany call-ups: “We see something in these lads.”

Jürgen Klopp speaks on all 11 new Germany call-ups: “We see something in these lads.” Jürgen Klopp has challenged observers to look beyond individual mistakes when assessing the raft of newcomers included in his first German national-team squad. The new Bundestrainer named 44 players across two separate groups for Germany’s forthcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures , including 11 players who had never previously received a senior call-up. Some of the selections are considerably more surprising than others. SV Elversberg midfielder Felix Keidel has played only three Bundesliga matches. Hoffenheim attacker Bambasé Conté has made only ten German top-flight appearances. Augsburg wing-back Hennes Behrens has only recently established himself at Bundesliga level, while Celtic midfielder Mika Baur admitted to Klopp that he had not even been a regular starter for the Germany U21s. Klopp nevertheless believes international football cannot develop new options without accepting a degree of risk. “First lesson for our coming shared time together,” Klopp said when asked whether the young additions might find themselves under excessive pressure. “We need to learn to have fun under pressure. Let’s begin with that. It’s actually quite cool. When there’s pressure, there’s something at stake. When there’s pressure, one knows what’s truly important in that moment. It’s easier to focus and it [pressure] is not a negative word.” Klopp challenges observers to look for potential The former Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund trainer was particularly direct when discussing how his least-established selections will inevitably be scrutinized. “You can take a close look and, whenever Felix Keidel plays a misplaced pass ask if he’s ready or not,” Klopp said. “Or if Bambasé Conté can’t complete a dribble in tonight’s [Hoffenheim] Europa League fixture, how will you look at it? Will you look at the potential or will you be looking to see if he’s ready [for this level]?” Keidel’s nomination illustrates Klopp’s point particularly well. His running prowess, two-footedness, set-piece delivery and tactical versatility have since helped transform a player with no previous DFB youth experience into perhaps the most unexpected senior Germany call-up of the group . Conté followed a different developmental route. Klopp revealed that Conté spent approximately two minutes laughing after hearing the new Bundestrainer identify himself over the telephone. Conté has still only started two of Hoffenheim’s opening four competitive fixtures, but has already contributed three assists. For Klopp, that is precisely the sort of player international coaches occasionally have to be willing to project forward rather than merely assess retrospectively. “I’ll tell you all right now that the lads are ready enough for what we’re trying to do with them at precisely this moment,” Klopp said. “We’ll all find out together. We have to look closely at how we can help them and that’s my job together with the club coaches. Ask the club coaches about the players and they’ll tell you how great they are. I like courageous [personnel] decisions.” Klopp explains what caught his eye The call-ups may look unconventional collectively, but Klopp offered specific explanations for many of them. Baur was apparently surprised enough to remind Klopp that he had not even been a regular U21 starter. The Bundestrainer nevertheless praised the 22-year-old’s creativity, passing and attitude. Baur’s decision to leave newly-promoted Paderborn for Celtic this summer also impressed him. Finn Jeltsch required significantly less convincing. Klopp said the Stuttgart centre-back was the first less-obvious name to catch his attention when the coaching staff began studying potential additions. Jeltsch’s age and senior experience particularly stood out: the 20-year-old has already accumulated 69 appearances across Germany’s top two divisions. Klopp described Jeltsch as an “exceptional defender,” praising his composure, athleticism and technical ability. Within the coaching staff, the question of whether to select him reportedly barely constituted a debate. The same “exceptional” description was applied to Freiburg centre-back Max Rosenfelder. Rosenfelder’s inclusion comes despite the fact that injuries have again severely restricted his competitive minutes. Klopp acknowledged that the 23-year-old is still being carefully rebuilt physically and stressed that Germany will ensure he is not overloaded. Yet the Freiburg academy product, together with Jeltsch, already represents what Klopp considers the next generation of German central defenders. Treu and Scherhant offer different kinds of versatility Klopp also used Philipp Treu’s selection to challenge one of the familiar complaints surrounding the German player pool. Klopp repeatedly emphasized that Germany possesses considerably more talent than recent pessimism suggested. “We talk in Germany about how we don’t have any right-backs,” Klopp said, before suggesting that Treu himself might reasonably wonder what everyone was talking about. Derry Scherhant offers a different kind of versatility. Klopp described the Freiburg attacker as possessing a “really exciting profile” because he does not fit neatly into the usual winger categories. Where one player might excel as a dribbler but lack directness toward goal, and another might attack the box without possessing sufficient one-on-one ability, Klopp believes Scherhant has elements of both. Ebnoutalib embodies the value of looking beyond reputation Younes Ebnoutalib perhaps provides the most extreme example of why Klopp is willing to cast the net widely. Less than two years ago, the Frankfurt-born striker was playing Regionalliga football for FC Gießen. Klopp recalled watching Ebnoutalib’s first Frankfurt appearance almost by accident. His reaction amounted to disbelief: “What the …? Where have they got him from?” Klopp joked that he would like to read a book about the striker’s unusual career path, while praising his willingness to empty the tank and his intelligence when operating along the opposition’s last defensive line. The new Germany coach is not claiming that every newcomer is already a finished international player. He is arguing almost the opposite. The purpose of opening the national-team door is partly to discover what might happen after they walk through it. Keidel will misplace passes. Conté will lose dribbles. Baur, Rosenfelder, Scherhant and the rest will encounter moments in which the step up appears enormous. Klopp appears willing to accept that. What matters to him is whether Germany looks at those moments as proof that the players should never have been selected—or as part of finding out how good they might eventually become. GGFN  |  Peter Weis