Captain Kimmich: “You feel the respect again”
October 17, 2024, 5:12 a.m
A year ago, national coach Julian Nagelsmann took over the job at the DFB. A lot has happened since then. Joshua Kimmich observes that the national team is being perceived differently again.
Captain Kimmich feels increased respect for the German national team © Christian Charisius/dpa
National team captain Joshua Kimmich has recently noticed a change in perception among opponents as a result of their successes. “You feel the respect again, and of course every further victory gives you more respect,” said Kimmich to “Kicker”. “The others are already noticing that we play better football, especially the Dutch. They have already seen that this time there was a team on the pitch that looked completely different five weeks ago,” explained Kimmich. “But it wasn’t the case that they went onto the pitch with the self-image that this is a German B-Elf and we’ll just knock them out for a moment.”
Kimmich, captain of the DFB team since İlkay Gündoğan’s resignation after the home European Championships, praised the structures created by national coach Julian Nagelsmann and explained the successful integration of many new players. “The main reason is that we already have a functioning system and functioning processes. Everyone knows what their job is, that’s certainly the national coach’s credit,” said the FC Bayern Munich professional.
Despite numerous injuries and cancellations, Germany recently won 2-1 against Bosnia-Herzegovina and 1-0 against the Netherlands in the Nations League and secured their place in the quarter-finals early on. “It was a surprise before the game,” said Kimmich. “It wasn’t an easy situation, but I thought it looked very good on the pitch.”
© dpa
