Julian Nagelsmann was just 28 years and 205 days old when he became the youngest coach in the history of the Bundesliga, seeing out a 1-1 draw between TSG Hoffenheim and SV Werder Bremen. It was just a small step in the right direction for TSG and their new coach, but Nagelsmann was still satisfied with the result. DFB.de spoke to the new record-holder after the game, and discussed whether he was nervous during his debut, his tactics in the relegation battle and what it means to him to have become the youngest Bundesliga coach ever.
Question: Mr. Nagelsmann, how nervous were you before your first game as a Bundesliga coach?
Julian Nagelsmann: I tried to stay calm and relaxed and block out everything going on around me. It worked out quite well and I was able to fully focus on the game.
Question: But you weren’t able to completely ignore the fuss going on around you?
Nagelsmann: You are always excited as a coach before a game. I was also excited before games when I was an U19 team coach, so it’s completely normal to feel a bit of tension before a game, it’s part of the job. But I wasn’t extremely nervous today, I felt comfortable in this new situation. I was actually looking forward to the experience.
Question: Was your team’s performance in the 1-1 draw in Bremen encouraging in terms of avoiding relegation?
Nagelsmann: Yes, it was. Obviously I’ve not had that much time with the team yet. But overall I was satisfied with the performance and the result. We struggled at times in the first half, but after the break we had our best phase in the game. We had good pace and our transition into attack was just the way I envisioned it. On the other hand, we know that we still need to improve. But we already displayed some of the aspects that I intend to implement here in our first game. Therefore I’m optimistic for the coming weeks and am confident that we will improve our position in the standings.
Question: TSG seem to lack firepower in attack. How will you try to overcome this in the next few weeks?
Nagelsmann: Playing well with the ball on the ground is the key, as we saw in Bremen. Bremen’s defenders were all at least 1.85 meters tall, which made it difficult for us to prevail in the air. That’s why I place emphasis on keeping the ball on the ground. We have to cross their last line of defence with low balls and create chances that way. This worked well a few times against Bremen. We will work on achieving a higher control with these low balls forward in the future.
Question: Hoffenheim are still five points adrift of a non-relegation spot. Do you think you are running out of time?
Nagelsmann: We have a set amount of games left to play and there are still plenty of points up for grabs. This is in our favour. At the same time, we will work on certain aspects of our game: Aggression, precision and getting in front of the opponent’s goal to create chances. That will allow us to score more goals and collect more points.
Question: You’ve become the youngsters Bundesliga coach ever at 28 years. What does that mean to you?
Nagelsmann: To me personally it doesn’t mean a lot. I would much more prefer to one day read a Wikipedia article, which states that we at TSG managed to avoid relegation as a team -instead of just reading that I’m the youngest Bundesliga coach ever. It’s a nice side note, but I don’t want to be the coach to face relegation with Hoffenheim.
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Julian Nagelsmann was just 28 years and 205 days old when he became the youngest coach in the history of the Bundesliga, seeing out a 1-1 draw between TSG Hoffenheim and SV Werder Bremen. It was just a small step in the right direction for TSG and their new coach, but Nagelsmann was still satisfied with the result. DFB.de spoke to the new record-holder after the game, and discussed whether he was nervous during his debut, his tactics in the relegation battle and what it means to him to have become the youngest Bundesliga coach ever.
Question: Mr. Nagelsmann, how nervous were you before your first game as a Bundesliga coach?
Julian Nagelsmann: I tried to stay calm and relaxed and block out everything going on around me. It worked out quite well and I was able to fully focus on the game.
Question: But you weren’t able to completely ignore the fuss going on around you?
Nagelsmann: You are always excited as a coach before a game. I was also excited before games when I was an U19 team coach, so it’s completely normal to feel a bit of tension before a game, it’s part of the job. But I wasn’t extremely nervous today, I felt comfortable in this new situation. I was actually looking forward to the experience.
Question: Was your team’s performance in the 1-1 draw in Bremen encouraging in terms of avoiding relegation?
Nagelsmann: Yes, it was. Obviously I’ve not had that much time with the team yet. But overall I was satisfied with the performance and the result. We struggled at times in the first half, but after the break we had our best phase in the game. We had good pace and our transition into attack was just the way I envisioned it. On the other hand, we know that we still need to improve. But we already displayed some of the aspects that I intend to implement here in our first game. Therefore I’m optimistic for the coming weeks and am confident that we will improve our position in the standings.
Question: TSG seem to lack firepower in attack. How will you try to overcome this in the next few weeks?
Nagelsmann: Playing well with the ball on the ground is the key, as we saw in Bremen. Bremen’s defenders were all at least 1.85 meters tall, which made it difficult for us to prevail in the air. That’s why I place emphasis on keeping the ball on the ground. We have to cross their last line of defence with low balls and create chances that way. This worked well a few times against Bremen. We will work on achieving a higher control with these low balls forward in the future.
Question: Hoffenheim are still five points adrift of a non-relegation spot. Do you think you are running out of time?
Nagelsmann: We have a set amount of games left to play and there are still plenty of points up for grabs. This is in our favour. At the same time, we will work on certain aspects of our game: Aggression, precision and getting in front of the opponent’s goal to create chances. That will allow us to score more goals and collect more points.
Question: You’ve become the youngsters Bundesliga coach ever at 28 years. What does that mean to you?
Nagelsmann: To me personally it doesn’t mean a lot. I would much more prefer to one day read a Wikipedia article, which states that we at TSG managed to avoid relegation as a team -instead of just reading that I’m the youngest Bundesliga coach ever. It’s a nice side note, but I don’t want to be the coach to face relegation with Hoffenheim.
