In addition to commenting on the call ups of Premier League professionals Pascal Groß and Anton Stach, German national team head coach Julian Nagelsmann also got his chance to explain the big news involving a Bundesliga player at Thursday’s DFB press conference. Stuttgart’s Deniz Undav is back on the team thanks to an excellent run-of-form. Plenty of journalists, not to mention Udav himself, were lobbying for the 29-year-old’s re-instatement.
Kicker’s Matthias Dersch ended up being the journalist to pose the Undav question. It came as something of a surprise to see the Undav topic broached so late in during the presser. Nagelsmann first had to answer several rounds of questions about Premier League players, as well as deflect plenty of politically charged queries about the World Cup atmosphere in light of the USA’s recent military offensive.
One factor contributing to the delay was certainly nevertheless the fact that Undav’s recent controversial interview in which he appeared to antagonize Nagelsmann for not selecting him sooner. Reporters at the presser surely knew Nagelsmann wasn’t keen to discuss it. The 38-year-old’s body language suggested as much. Nagelsmann stammered a tad a delivered his response through gritted teeth.
Nagelsmann on Deniz Undav’s selection
“Incredible stats,” Nagelsmann began when discussing Undav’s return. “One can’t exclude a striker with those kind of stats. That applies to both his assists and his goals. Those are cold hard facts. Myself and colleagues also straightened things out after his interview and interpretations that emerged under questionable circumstances.
“In December, I gave him a comprehensive list of measures and feedback on what he needs to do – beyond just scoring goals and picking up assists – to get back into our sights,” Nagelsmann continued. “In his charming little way, he said something else in the interview. He apologized. I told him there was nothing to apologize for.
“In any event, Deniz and I have a good relationship,” Nagelsmann concluded. “Everything’s great between us. He knew what he had to do. He implemented the list. He has excellent stats. It’s good to have him here and he’s welcome to keep scoring goals next week.“
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