He arrives without World Cup baggage: is this Germany gem Klopp’s key man?

He arrives without World Cup baggage: is this Germany gem Klopp’s key man? Jürgen Klopp’s second Germany squad points clearly toward the future. A few carefree young talents are now getting their chance to stake a claim for the senior national team. Players who may already have figured in Julian Nagelsmann’s thoughts and dreamed of a place in the World Cup squad, but ultimately had not yet gotten their opportunity. Tom Bischof had an especially busy international break. By agreement between the coaches, the captain of Germany’s U21 national team was called up by both U21 coach Antonio Di Salvo and Jürgen Klopp. After the commanding 4–0 win over Latvia in the European Championship qualifiers, the Bayern Munich pro traveled straight on to the senior team. He therefore arrived with a sense of achievement — exactly what Klopp could also use well against Serbia.  While Bischof is a regular with the U21s, he now joins the new national coach in the role of challenger. “Both roles are doing me a lot of good — because here I can take on huge responsibility, but I also have to do that at the top level. I’m no different as a person there, I behave exactly the same as I do here,” said the 21-year-old (quote via 'kicker'). In the newly reshaped Germany midfield, Bischof’s task now is to draw attention to himself. Klopp is primarily looking for a suitable partner for Joshua Kimmich, but after Kimmich’s departure, Bischof’s chances of featuring against Serbia or Greece have at least improved. Alongside Bischof, however, Aleksander Pavlović, Anton Stach, and Vitaly Janelt are also hoping for their chance. For Kimmich, being a spectator is unusual and painful. All the more so because the game against Serbia is taking place in his “living room,” the Allianz Arena. “I’d hoped until the very end to stay and of course I would have loved to be there,” the Germany captain admitted openly after the defeat against Greece. The nominated Bayern players, including Bischof, in turn get to look forward to this special home match. And Jürgen Klopp can rely on Bischof’s qualities in counter-pressing. Since his move to Munich, the talent has made noticeable progress once again. “Tom is a very fine footballer, has enormous tactical talent, and is simply a fantastic guy,” the national coach had already said in praise when announcing the squad. From club football, Bischof knows the role of challenger well — the same role now awaiting him with Germany. In midfield, he is battling Pavlović for the spot alongside Joshua Kimmich. The competition does not intimidate him, however, because all three push each other on, Bischof revealed in July to the club’s own media: “Everyone wants to play, and that makes everyone better and helps the whole team. I definitely believe I can fill this role.”  That he is brimming with self-confidence was also evident in his choice of shirt number. In Munich, Bischof took over the prestigious number 8 from Leon Goretzka. As he revealed to 'ran.de', his predecessor even had a joking comment about it: “He was at the training ground and said, because I was still wearing his slides, ‘Are you stealing everything from me now?!’ But I think he’s genuinely happy for me.” With this mix of fearlessness, creativity, and healthy self-belief, Tom Bischof has everything it takes to become a key pillar not only at Bayern Munich but also under Jürgen Klopp in the Germany team. The opportunity is there — now he just has to take it.  This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.