National soccer team: Nagelsmann apologizes to Undav

National coach Julian Nagelsmann apologized to the national striker after unfortunate statements about Deniz Undav – also on the advice of his wife. “It wasn’t right and the severity was far too brisk for the public,” reports Nagelsmann in the “Best Cast” talk series on MagentaTV and emphasizes: “I said: ‘It was stupid of me, I’m sorry.’”

This realization also matured in dialogue with his wife Lena. “She is a person who reflects me very well, who of course also tells me to my face if something wasn’t good. Take Deniz Undav, for example. I told her I would call him, and then she said: Yes, I advise you to do that too. That’s how you can sum it up,” says Nagelsmann.

On the sidelines of the most recent international match with games against Switzerland (4:3) and Ghana (2:1), the national coach had to talk again and again about the joker role of the in-form Stuttgart attacker Undav. After the VfB professional secured the victory as a substitute, Nagelsmann complained, among other things: “If he marches for 70 minutes beforehand, I don’t know whether he can do it like that. It was a long step, which can be difficult for him after 70 minutes – also in view of the summer at 42 degrees.”

He now regrets this statement. “It was an unnecessary sentence, for which I apologized to Deniz the next day. Thank God he accepted it and everything is fine between us.” He “just let himself be a little triggered at that moment by a lot of questions about the same topic.”

Undav, whom Nagelsmann sees as a “challenger” with a view to the World Cup, has shown that he “can play a good role as a joker”. However, “something can always change” about this role. But that doesn’t just affect Deniz, but all players.”