Julian Nagelsmann has been in the coaching business for some time now, and not every player remembers him fondly. At Bayern Munich there was one player who was especially difficult for the coach to handle, who ended up leaving the club after just one season.
Ryan Gravenberch arrived at FC Bayern from Ajax in the summer of 2022. The then 20-year-old midfielder found it hard to get minutes under Nagelsmann, and left the club for Liverpool FC after only a single season. He has since turned his career
around, becoming a key member of the Reds’ starting XI.
Nagelsmann, in an interview with Kicker (via @iMiaSanMia) discussed what it means to be a squad player for a team like Germany. While doing so, he mentioned the Gravenberch situation and how it all fell apart for the Dutchman.
“You have to pay extremely close attention to how a player handles being 15th or 16th in our squad,” said Nagelsmann. “Even though he’s considered a top-six player at his club, someone who always plays. Can a player who’s a regular starter at his club grow into that kind of role with us, or not? I can certainly imagine that there will be players who don’t see themselves as being 15th or 16th in the squad. They might not say so publicly, but they’ll say it in private conversations.”
With the World Cup coming up, the question of who will make the roster has become a major topic in Germany. As coach of the national team, Nagelsmann gets the final say. “Ultimately, every player has to make a genuine commitment,” he said. “But then, in March, they also have to show that they stand by their word and put the team first. I know from experience that not everyone can do that.”
“Let me give you an example from my time at Bayern Munich. Ryan Gravenberch is a top-class player, he already was at Bayern, but the situation was very complicated for him after his transfer from Ajax. Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich were ahead of him in the pecking order, and I had also promoted Aleksandar Pavlović. Ryan’s task was to step up his game in the last 20 minutes, but that’s not his style of play. Ryan is a player who needs consistent rhythm throughout the match. And then there are players you can bring on for 20 minutes, either to maintain a result or to desperately score a goal. They can give their all and leave everything on the pitch in those 20 minutes.”
This reveals a few interesting tidbits:
- Gravenberch was originally intended to be a sort of specialist substitute, coming in for the main duo of Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka. He wasn’t supposed to be a starter.
- Even if we take Nagelsmann at his word, Gravenberch got a raw deal. The Dutchman played 938 minutes in 33 games, an average of only 28 minutes per game.
- Nagelsmann is planning to bring more specialist substitutes to the World Cup. Who’s going to get that job?
Whatever it means, it is a fascinating insight behind the scenes at Bayern Munich. Fans often wondered why Ryan Gravenberch didn’t get more game time. Now we know why.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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