Jürgen Klopp’s first international break as Germany head coach has looked very different from the highly structured, recognizable teams he built at Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund. With 44 players called up and the squad divided across two groups, Klopp has used the UEFA Nations League as an opportunity to evaluate a wide range of players rather than immediately settling on his strongest XI.
Dr. Constantine Eckner, a German football analyst, journalist and tactical commentator who has written extensively
about the Bundesliga and German football, believes the competition itself has made that approach possible.
“It is very much kind of a league right now for Jürgen Klopp, and what he tries to do here is currently testing a number of players,” Eckner told Casino.at. “I think once the second international break starts in November, we might see smaller squads, we might see some of these novice players not playing again for Germany, and then he will start working on actually rehearsing his tactical system, because right now, it’s not anything like Jürgen Klopp from like we saw at Liverpool or before that even Dortmund.”
That could explain why Germany have looked somewhat disjointed during Klopp’s opening two matches. Eckner views the Nations League as a natural testing ground because international football no longer provides the same number of friendlies that previous generations of coaches had available.
“Yeah, it’s also, I guess, a verdict on how important the Nations League is. He’s not the only national team head coach right now who’s trying out new players, who’s maybe using a couple of backup players,” said Eckner.
But there is an interesting caveat to that strategy. The Nations League can be treated as an experimental competition until the stakes become higher.
“If you reach the final, it’s taken seriously. If you are eliminated at the group stage, no one takes it that seriously,” Eckner noted.
For Klopp, then, the opening months may be less about immediate tactical perfection and more about determining which players will form the foundation of his Germany team when the experimentation eventually gives way to preparation for the biggest tournaments.
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