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By Oliver Trust
BERLILN, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Life has now returned to normal for Julian Nagelsmann, the youngest Bundesliga coach ever at the age of 28 years, six months and 15 days.
A year ago, the newcomer conquered the headlines of international football around the globe when he was appointed head coach of first division TSG Hoffenheim on Feb. 11. One year on, Nagelsmann has mastered the challenges with some remarkable performances.
The Bavarian-born former pro is regarded as the biggest German coaching talent. His presence is like a new horizon in German football. He has introduced new training-methods and appears to be able to take the expectations and pressure in his stride. Head-coach of Bayern Munich? Possible. German national coach? Why not. When talking about his future, there do not seem to be any limits.
Twelve months ago, Hoffenheim's decision to pin their hopes on the shoulders a young man without experience in top-class coaching was highly criticized. Headlines used the words "high risk" or "PR gag". The world's media took notice of the youngster who had only won the German U-19 championship at the age of 26. Nagelsmann was seen skeptically as he was younger than many of his players.
His first Bundesliga game came as a surprise for him too as Hoffenheim's plans to install him as head coach at the end of the season were torpedoed by the news that his predecessor, 62-year old Dutchman Huub Stevens, had to quit due to heart problems. Nagelsmann created a little miracle as he saved the club from relegation by winning 23 points from the last 14 games.
One year later, the club, which was formed by billionaire and SAP co-founder Dietmar Hopp, is a serious contestant in the battle to qualify for the major European competitions. With a budget that is average for the Bundesliga, youngster Nagelsmann is seen as being responsible for the stunning success. "I'm extremely ambitious and have the desire to win titles. I'm hungry for success in every game and every training session," Nagelsmann said.
Nagelsmann is not only regarded to be a football nerd, but a member of the new coaching generation like Thomas Tuchel (Borussia Dortmund), Juergen Klopp (Liverpool) or Ralph Hasenhuettl (RB Leipzig). Like his fellow coaches, Nagelsmann dreams the dream of a perfect 90 minutes. "Pep Guardiola in Barcelona came near to what I call a perfect game. The most remarkable thing was not when they had the ball, but when they had lost it. They were pressing with high risk, man on man at the back and it was the basis of their dominate game," Nagelsmann said.
Guardiola is an inspiration for the youngster who also tries to find ideas from other walks of life saying, "I try to learn from others too, not just from football. It's extremely interesting to see how big companies treat their employees, how big characters can motivate and what is done in other sports. I want to keep my mind open for new ideas even when they appear to be unusual at first sight."
According to Nagelsmann football has reached its limits as far as athleticism is concerned. "I'm sure football will develop when it comes to cognitive speed. It'll be necessary to reveal the capacity of players to deal with information, so that information can be used quicker. Players will then make the right decisions on the pitch more easily," Nagelsmann said.
When it comes to training methods, almost no training session is like the one before. The idea behind it is to demand full concentration of the players at all times to prepare them to act quickly in tight situations. "Methods will be created to get data regarding tactical behavior and not just statistics like it is today," Nagelsmann said.
When talking about the new development, Nagelsmann is talking about data like "how long does a striker stay on the blind side of defender? What does he do to get away from the opponent to receive the ball? How many players do we have ahead of the ball when we win it back?" According to Nagelsmann, football will in the future use the video evidence, the sin-bin and some kind of time-out during the game for commercials to be televised.
The father of a young son had to go through a hard time when his father died. Nagelsmann was 20 at that time and had to take responsibility. "It was the hardest experience in my life when my father died, but it made me learn," he says. Aged only 24, he had to accept his own football career was over due to injury. Thomas Tuchel, coach of FC Augsburg that time, employed him as an assistant coach. Later he was impressed by the methods of Hoffenheim' s former coach Ralf Rangnick, who today is Leipzig' s Director of Sport.
One year after his surprising start, Nagelsmann gives the impression of being a settled and experienced coach. Constantly asked if he would take over Bayern Munich, he answered with a smile saying: "Thomas Tuchel, Ralph Hasenhuettl and me are currently talking about who will be the boss at Bayern, who will be assistant and who will be in charge of the air in the balls used in the practice sessions."
