The fact that Joshua Kimmich and Felix Nmecha have not yet functioned satisfactorily together in the first two internationals under Jürgen Klopp does not unsettle the new national coach at all.
He said he fully understood that the makeup of central midfield in the Germany national team "is a big issue", but at his press conference on Wednesday evening urged the public to show far more patience.
"I’ve been a football coach for 25 years and in my entire life no double pivot has ever worked after five days. It doesn’t work like that," Klopp stressed on the day before his third match as Germany coach, against Serbia in Munich on Thursday. Klopp added that the obvious teething problems had "nothing at all to do" with Kimmich and Nmecha themselves. "Zero. Nada. They didn’t play in this constellation at the World Cup either. Jo played at right-back and Felix as an eight. He is also an eight, but at times he is a six."
That patience, in the process he wants to kick off with the DFB team, also means "not judging players immediately. (…) The coach is new and gets time, but the players get none any more. How crazy is that? This sport only works through the team - and that’s what we have to develop." Klopp then made clear: "The lads want to play very good and successful football - and we will get there. The problem is that our development is taking place under the public microscope and is judged every day."
In both his international debut in the Netherlands (1-1) and in the disappointing 1-0 home defeat to Greece on Sunday, Klopp opted for Kimmich as the deep-lying six in central midfield and Nmecha as one of the two players around the captain. Nadiem Amiri filled the other slot in front of Kimmich in the Netherlands, before international debutant Bambase Conte was picked somewhat surprisingly against Greece.
On those early problems, including in the six and eight positions, Klopp drew a vivid comparison: "If you put together a ballet - not that we are one - and after four days they’re supposed to perform, then they’ll run into each other. We didn’t do that, just to make that clear," said the 59-year-old.
With neither Kimmich nor Nmecha in Klopp’s second squad for the matches against Serbia and in Greece on Sunday, both have already left camp and the Germany coach is set to reshuffle his central midfield. Aleksandar Pavlovic, Vitaly Janelt and Florian Wirtz could start against Serbia.