Through the wrong door: Klopp enters the history of the Germany national team!
Can he correct the course?
Jürgen Klopp has entered the history of the Germany national team through the wrong door. His first two matches at the helm have produced the worst start for any coach in the history of "Die Mannschaft", right at the outset of his UEFA Nations League journey.
Germany lost to Greece by a single unanswered goal after drawing their opener with the Netherlands one goal apiece. One point from the first two rounds. No national team coach had ever managed a start this poor.
Sepp Herberger in 1937 and Helmut Schön in 1965 both began their Germany reigns without a win in their opening two matches, but each drew both games. Klopp took a loss and a draw, leaving him the man with the worst start in the history of the German national team according to Marca newspaper.
The German coach tried to play down the early results despite the difficult start. He stressed that he knew before taking the job that German football was going through a tough period, and that he had not come to the national team to solve all its problems overnight.
Development needs time, Klopp said. He insisted the national team would in future reach a stage that makes any opponent suffer against them, and he urged fans and critics to aim their criticism at him rather than the new players.
He saw no reason to believe the national team was "very bad", the German coach added, though he acknowledged Germany was not at the level it had been previously.
Klopp's remarks coincided with sharper criticism from Bastian Schweinsteiger. The former Germany star described "Die Mannschaft" as no longer among the first-rank national teams, branding it a mid-level side lacking players capable of making a difference.
Greece itself possesses players capable of changing matches, Schweinsteiger pointed out, backing Klopp and calling on him to build a team that can apply his well-known ideas.
Germany can correct their course in the next two rounds. They host Serbia before travelling to Greece, two tests that could give Klopp the chance to reshuffle his cards after the historically difficult start.
