German national team head coach Jürgen Klopp made a very interesting decision ahead of his squad’s UEFA Nations League match vs. Serbia.
The veteran coach opted to sit Nico Schlotterbeck, who is widely regarded as the team‘s best central defender, in favor of Malick Thiaw and Jonathan Tah. Even with the explanation the head coach gave, it was questionable considering Schlotterbeck’s status among his peers.
“We are expecting lots of long balls, so Thiaw and Tah have a slight advantage because of their
aerial ability. We also have another game in 72 hours. It was a close decision,” Klopp said (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).
Tah is the tallest of the three German center-backs at 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in), followed closely by Malick Thiaw at 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in), and Nico Schlotterbeck at 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in), so there is not a massive difference in height. However, Schlotterbeck is considered by many to be the best of the three players, so Klopp’s rationale did make some raise an eyebrow.
Regardless, it was a “no harm, no foul” situation as Germany went on to win handily 3-1. Interestingly, though, Schlotterbeck did not even appear as a sub in the match.
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