- Title: Not the big cheese says Hoffenheim's Nagelsmann
- Date: 23rd November 2016
- Summary: HOFFENHEIM, GERMANY (NOVEMBER 23, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF HOFFENHEIM ZUZENHAUSEN, GERMANY (NOVEMBER 23, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF TSG HOFFENHEIM TRAINING GROUND VARIOUS OF TSG HOFFENHEIM COACH JULIAN NAGELSMANN ON PITCH (SOUNDBITE) (German) TSG HOFFENHEIM COACH, JULIAN NAGELSMANN, SAYING: "I think a basis of trust and good ties are important. It is also clear that due to my age I also do not come across to players as the big cheese. But I am not one of the boys, that is clear as well. At the end of the day I take those decisions that at times are tough on the players, especially considering the size of the squad." VARIOUS OF NAGELSMANN (SOUNDBITE) (German) TSG HOFFENHEIM COACH, JULIAN NAGELSMANN, SAYING: "There are other people too, I am not alone on the coaching staff. Obviously I am more in the focus than my assistants but we all contribute to the success. We have a great team, not only football coaches but also athletics coaches, goalkeeper coaches, psychologists. We all play our part. But at the top is the team which has to apply the ideas and at the moment it is doing it very well." VARIOUS OF TEAM TRAINING WITH NAGELSMANN (SOUNDBITE) (German) TSG HOFFENHEIM COACH, JULIAN NAGELSMANN, SAYING: "I always say that Pep Guardiola is a role model for me given the way and style of his football. Though I do try to copy something from every coach. When I watch other matches there are always things you can take on and put into your own philosophy." VARIOUS OF TEAM TRAINING WITH NAGELSMANN (SOUNDBITE) (German) TSG HOFFENHEIM COACH, JULIAN NAGELSMANN, SAYING: "I can say that this is my long-term goal. To play with my team in an international competition and play for the title. If I can do that then I will have reached a major goal of mine." VARIOUS OF TEAM TRAINING WITH NAGELSMANN (SOUNDBITE) (German) TSG HOFFENHEIM SPORTS DIRECTOR, ALEXANDER ROSEN, SAYING: "He is certainly an ambitious man. On the other hand he is still very young who knows exactly what he has here. I do not think he is wasting any thoughts of going somewhere else at the moment. You have to remember he is only 29, he has many years at the highest level ahead of him. I am certain Hoffenheim will not be his last coaching stop but I also don't think that in the short term he is thinking about changes." VARIOUS OF TEAM TRAINING WITH NAGELSMANN (SOUNDBITE) (German) TSG HOFFENHEIM MIDFIELDER, SEBASTIAN RUDY, SAYING: "I think he knows exactly how to deal with each player and I think he has an advantage over others. That's part of the whole package." TEAM ON TRAINING PITCH (SOUNDBITE) (German) TSG HOFFENHEIM MIDFIELDER, SEBASTIAN RUDY, SAYING: "I still remember the moment he came into the locker room for the first time, when he made an excellent speech and all the players knew, 'ok, we're going to do this'. That was the key moment, right at the beginning." FANS WATCHING TRAINING SESSION (SOUNDBITE) (German) TSG HOFFENHEIM FAN, ERNST MECHTEL, SAYING: "I think he's brought some momentum. He has new ideas and I must say I'm quite enthusiastic about him." (SOUNDBITE) (German) TSG HOFFENHEIM FAN, HORST-DIETER NEITZERT, SAYING: "Of course we're enthusiastic because in the last few years we've been fighting relegation and now we're playing at the top. That's a sensation for the whole region." BERLIN, GERMANY (NOVEMBER 23, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF "11 FREUNDE" CHIEF EDITOR, PHILIPP KOESTER IN HIS OFFICE
- Embargoed: 8th December 2016 17:59
- Keywords: TSG Hoffenheim Julian Nagelsmann coach Bundesliga
- Location: HOFFENHEIM, ZUZENHAUSEN & BERLIN, GERMANY
- City: HOFFENHEIM, ZUZENHAUSEN & BERLIN, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Soccer,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA00159NYJWF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: He may be the Bundesliga's youngest ever coach but 29-year-old Julian Nagelsmann has built up a level of trust with his players that he says is key to the unbeaten club's sensational run in the Bundesliga this season.
Nagelsmann took over midway through last season with the team anchored in 17th place and with the mandate of keeping them in the top division.
After succeeding in his first major mission in the Bundesliga, Nagelsmann has this season taken the league by storm with Hoffenheim unbeaten so far in 11 matches, a feat equalled only by leaders RB Leizpig.
Hoffenheim, who have won five of their last seven matches, are on 21 points, level with third-placed Borussia Dortmund and three off second-placed Bayern Munich.
"I think a basis of trust and good ties are important," Nagelsmann told Reuters during a break in training on Wednesday (November 23).
"It is also clear that due to my age I also do not come across to players as the big cheese," he said. "But I am not one of the boys, that is clear as well. At the end of the day I take those decisions that at times are tough on the players."
One could mistake him, given his appearance with his short blond hair and youthful face, with a player but there is no mistaking his tactical nous that has earned him the nickname "baby Mourinho" in reference to the Manchester United coach.
With Hoffenheim playing their best season since their maiden campaign in the Bundesliga in 2008/9, Nagelsmann has quickly made a name for himself, turning doubters into supporters and international media hailing him as the "wunderkind" of German football.
"I am not alone on the coaching staff," Nagelsmann said, uncomfortable with the praise he has been receiving recently. "Obviously I am more in the focus than my assistants but we all contribute to the success."
"But at the top is the team which has to apply the ideas and at the moment it is doing it very well."
The comparison with Mourinho is not lost on Nagelsmann, for whom the Portuguese is a role model.
"I always say that Pep Guardiola is a role model for me given the way and style of his football," he said. "Though I do try to copy something from every coach."
Mourinho's silverware haul is also something Nagelsmann wants to experience.
"I can say that this is my long-term goal," he said. "To play with my team in an international competition and play for the title. If I can do that then I will have reached a major goal of mine."
Hoffenheim's success, however, has brought up the question of Nagelsmann's future at the club but sports director Alexander Rosen said he was convinced the coach, whose contract runs to 2019, would remain there for some time.
"He is certainly an ambitious man," Rosen told Reuters. "On the other hand he is still very young who knows exactly what he has here. I do not think he is wasting any thoughts of going somewhere else at the moment."
"I am certain Hoffenheim will not be his last coaching stop but I also don't think that in the short term he is thinking about changes." - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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