Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich have had a history of providing the biggest contingents of Germany players since around 2010. The likes of Mario Götze, İlkay Gündoğan, Marco Reus, Mats Hummels and Sven
Bender (anyone remember the Bender brothers?) would compete against the likes of Mario Gomez, Phillip Lahm, Manuel Neuer and Bastian Schweinsteiger in league play but would have to work together when international fixtures rolled around. It makes sense, too. These were the two best teams in the Bundesliga during that time.
But when Julian Nagelsmann joined as head coach, he notably ditched those old structures. Less Bayern and Dortmund players were called up and played while other German clubs experienced the opposite fortune. At one point, Bayern only had two first team players in the Germany squad. Meanwhile, the likes of VfB Stuttgart and Eintracht Frankfurt started providing more and more German internationals. It looked like Nagelsmann was going a fresh, bold direction with his Germany squads.
But we are right back where we started, with Bayern and Dortmund again fielding the most international players to Germany. When asked about the many Bayern players in the squad, Nagelsmann had this to say: “Right now we have the biggest blocks in the team from Bayern and Dortmund. Bayern are having an outstanding season. Of course players like [Harry] Kane and [Michael] Olise have a very important role, but the German players are also important,” the former Bayern head coach explained, as captured by @iMiaSanMia. “Aleks [Pavlovic] has been playing more lately. Jona [Tah] needed some time but has now become more stable. Josh [Kimmich] has been playing at the same high level for years.”
Ultimately, what club players play for can matter (being club teammates helps build chemistry) but Nagelsmann has only been looking to nominate the most deserving players. Of course, Germany had significant Bayern and Dortmund contingents in 2014. Clearly, this can work.
Germany was in need of a good performance and Luxembourg was the right squad for the moment.
The team spirit appeared to be much higher than the last international where the German were flat and the renewed energy helped power the team to a 4-0 victory. An early red card played a massive role in the outcome, but Germany likely would have rolled easily even without being a man-up for three quarters of the match.
Let’s dive into all of the details from the match on this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show! This is what we have on tap:
- A look at the starting XI as Julian Nagelsmann made some interesting selections.
- A rundown of the scoring and substitutions.
- Some final thoughts and takeaways on the match.
Also, be sure to stay tuned to Bavarian Podcast Works for all of your up to date coverage on Bayern Munich and Germany. Check us out on Patreon and follow us on Twitter @BavarianFBWorks, @BavarianPodcast @TheBarrelBlog, @BFWCyler, @2012nonexistent, @TommyAdams71 and more.
