Jürgen Klopp aims to clarify Jamal Musiala discourse
· Yahoo Sports
Jürgen Klopp and Thomas Müller found themselves in their first punditry hot water on Saturday when they developed a lineup for Germany to face Curaçao, which omitted Jamal Musiala.
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Klopp wanted to take some time to clarify his intent on the lineup that he and Müller presented. While the former Liverpool boss did not walk back saying that he would bench Musiala against Curaçao, he did provide further context on why he would leave the Bayern Munich star out of the lineup on Sunday.
“We were told that there had been some discussion about our lineup choices. I’ve been in a leadership position for 25 years and have worked with people. What you say is important, of course. But it’s much more important that the person you’re addressing understands. Obviously, there were a few misunderstandings, and that simply needs to be clarified. We were asked to provide a starting lineup based on what we were working with. We wanted to show that there are many options,” said Klopp (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “Of course, we also want Musiala to play. But he won’t be able to play every game from start to finish. In this tournament, the most important game comes right at the end. And you obviously need to be in good form for that one. That was absolutely not meant as criticism.
“Who are we supposed to criticize? We haven’t even played yet, neither the coach, and certainly not Musiala, whom everyone loves, including us. We want Musiala to quickly develop a sense of his own abilities, to feel confident enough to do everything. And that’s obviously not the case at the moment. He hasn’t played enough games. But that’s okay. He’ll have plenty of games now, he can find his feet and have a fantastic World Cup. And then I’ll be the first one there for him. So it wasn’t about: get rid of him. It was about us having other options.”
The roles of Klopp and Müller are not coach and player for this World Cup, but experts who are going to give their opinions on games, situations, and players. The initial rationale for leaving Musiala out of the lineup (covered here by BFW) was as follows: “The idea was that Musiala would be subbed on later against tired legs when spaces open up.”
That is sound thinking when considering Musiala’s health and struggles. However, things started to blow up when former Bayern Munich and German national team star Lothar Matthäus took exception to Germany fielding a lineup that did not include Musiala and then took aim at Klopp and Müller.
Surely, the next time that Klopp, Müller, and Matthäus rub elbows, the legendary trio will address the topic. However, if Klopp is going to need time to clarify and outline his exact rationale for every take that he offers, punditry will burn him out a lot faster than coaching ever could.
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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