Jürgen Klopp said he wants to help spread national pride in Germany as he announced a super-sized first roster as national team coach with an appeal to “reclaim the flag.”
Klopp is aiming to reconnect German soccer fans with their team after yet another World Cup failure. With a roster of 44 players across two separate squads — 16 of them uncapped — for upcoming Nations League games, he's creating many more Germany internationals, too.
“I'd like to
reclaim the flag for me, or for us, to be totally honest,” the former Liverpool manager said, wearing a cap in German black, red and gold with the slogan “One of 83 million,” referencing the country's population.
“I’d like it if, when you’re waving it, no one thinks there’s something wrong with you, but that they just feel you're happy and you understand you're lucky to be born in this wonderful country, to grow up here or to have moved here, that you live here. I'd like that a lot," he added. "I've had this thought in my head that I don't want to leave national pride to the wrong people.”
Klopp used the term “positive patriotism” and suggested Germans would benefit from a more optimistic outlook on soccer and life in general.
"Just look now and then what good things we actually have,” he said.
Klopp's comments come as Germany digests the far-right Alternative for Germany's victory in an election in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt this month.
Klopp's double roster turns the upcoming games against the Netherlands, Greece and Serbia into an extended audition for places ahead of the next major tournament, the 2028 European Championship.
Stars like Florian Wirtz and Kai Havertz will likely be limited to a maximum of two of the games as Klopp looks to fit in more new faces and reduce the workload on players.
It continues his unorthodox start to life in international soccer after he began by threatening to resign if he felt criticism was too overwhelming or the media was too intrusive.
Forward Karim Adeyemi returns for the first time in 11 months after a positive start at his new club Barcelona, while Ajax's Marc-André ter Stegen is first-choice goalkeeper after Manuel Neuer's international retirement.
Many of the players called up Thursday have never played for Germany's senior team. Some, like Elversberg midfielder Felix Keidel and Eintracht Frankfurt forward Younes Ebnoutalib, have only played a handful of top-division club games. Celtic's Mika Baur, Brentford's Vitaly Janelt and Cologne youngster Said El Mala are among more new faces.
The only squad limit in the league phase is that teams must submit a list of 23 before midnight ahead of each game, but they can switch out players between games.
Still, there is no place for striker Deniz Undav, who led Germany with three goals and two assists at the World Cup before a round-of-32 loss on penalties to Paraguay spelled the end of coach Julian Nagelsmann's tenure. Galatasaray winger Leroy Sané also misses out and won't add to his 80 caps for Germany.
Germany starts against the Netherlands on Sept. 24, before playing Greece three days later, Serbia on Oct. 1 and Greece again Oct. 4.
___
See AP’s full soccer coverage here
