Klopp: Don't judge players too early; criticize me directly if you want to

Germany lost 0-1 to Greece at home in the second round of the UEFA Nations League A. After the match, Germany coach Klopp attended a press conference to answer media questions. The following is the third part of the press conference.

Reporter: Hello, Mr. Klopp. Your explanation is very thorough. But deep down, do you feel somewhat frustrated? Did you previously expect the team's tactical maturity to be higher than it is now?

It would be foolish if I sat on the coaching bench all day just daydreaming, thinking "how nice it would be if everything was perfect with this team and I didn't have to worry too much." The Football Association hired me as head coach, and my primary responsibility is to precisely identify the team's real problems and then genuinely solve them through training and tactical means. That's my job, and I would never naively expect the team to have no weaknesses.

So, I don't feel frustrated at all. I've been in football for so many years, I've seen all kinds of storms. I know that every player under my command has a much higher actual level on the field than what they showed tonight, that's just a fact. Our task, as I've emphasized many times, is to mold the players into a cohesive unit through tactical arrangements, so they can handle tough matches at critical moments.

Last night we witnessed a high-level contest: England against Spain. That was one of the most exciting matchups I've seen recently. After the game, Thomas Tuchel will surely be criticized for not being able to stabilize the situation at key moments, but in reality, Spain's goals all came from individual errors by their opponents. Is the current Spanish team the benchmark in world football? Obviously yes. But the key is that even against such a strong opponent, you still have to dare to play your own tactical characteristics, and that is precisely the level we are striving to reach.

We cannot constantly fantasize about immediately surpassing the top teams currently dominating world football. We must proceed step by step, and we are steadily moving forward on this path. In the best-case scenario, we might be able to take bigger strides in the future, but we have to take it one step at a time.

Reporter: Jürgen, you just mentioned the team lacks the belief to win. Tah openly stated in an off-field interview that the team lacks courage, and Bastian Schweinsteiger even commented in the studio that Germany has now become mediocre. Do you think the painful defeats in previous major tournaments still leave a deep psychological shadow on the entire team? They seemed very unconfident on the field, and it was the same when facing the fans just now. To reverse the current situation, is this more a psychological barrier or a deficiency in tactical strength?

This is definitely the result of multiple intertwined factors. Tah said we lack courage... I would say it's not necessarily a problem of courage, the core is the lack of a firm belief in consistently executing established tactical routines. There's a lack of composure to calmly control the ball in the right spaces, a lack of sufficient clarity and decisiveness. To give a simple example, if Bayern Munich is not in good form in a Bundesliga match and doesn't perform at its peak, they will most likely still win the game; but our current national team doesn't have that kind of foundation yet, we are not the Bayern Munich of European football. We are a team still in a transitional period, looking for our best form. The head coach has some new ideas for the lineup, and the team must gradually adapt and find its rhythm in actual play.

The tactical principles on the football field were not invented by me out of thin air. The elements necessary to break through, the spaces that must be resolutely exploited – our task is to point them out to the players on the tactics board. Please believe that we know these principles inside and out. But in actual play, players must make correct decisions in a flash.

When we advance according to the established tactics, with two high-positioned wingers on the flanks and two players dropping back to receive in the middle — tonight it was Conte and Ebenoutalib responsible for receiving, and Karim (Adeyemi) and Kevin (Schade) attacking on the wings — at that moment, the wingers must resolutely step up and break the balance. They must directly confront the opponent's last line of defense to exert pressure, distribute the ball, and decisively execute one-on-one dribbles. If they break through, great; if not, they should pass the ball back to reorganize, then send in a cross, by which time our central players will have arrived. Football is not that profound, and tactics are not complicated at all. Please believe me, we will definitely succeed in perfecting this style of play.

But at certain times tonight, once the lads faced a setback, they would hang their heads, and when they hung their heads, they would miss the receiving spaces they should have run into, and then fall into blind individual play, blasting the ball into the opponent's dense defensive wall. So the coach's job is by no means a formality; our value lies in clearly telling the players which details could have been handled more reasonably. Of course, we always understand that the difficulty of executing on the field is far greater than discussing it from the sidelines.

This is our current situation. For me, there is no reason to wallow in self-pity and conclude, "Oh my God, we play so badly." We are by no means that bad. But objectively speaking, we are also far from reaching our ideal height, and this is precisely the step we must climb with all our might.

If everyone wants to help the team on this journey, I personally urge all media friends: do not prematurely judge the players, do not rush to conclude that this person is not good enough, or that person is not. If you must find someone to vent your dissatisfaction, please direct it entirely at me. Perhaps there has been a great misunderstanding before: I completely accept criticism, if you want to verbally attack me, just fire away, this is by no means an empty statement.

In my first press conference, I never said, "You must not criticize me." I only asked not to disturb my family. As for me personally, whatever you say, however you evaluate me, it doesn't matter. So please keep all the criticism for me, and create a relatively tolerant environment for the lads. Only then can we calm down and do practical things. Please give those newcomers who have just debuted on the big stage some time to grow and make mistakes. Do not scrutinize every mistake they make on the field with the harshest magnifying glass. This week, the newcomers have shown an extremely excellent and pleasing demeanor.

As for the core veteran players in the team, they also need time. They are all top players, playing for world-class clubs, and they will undoubtedly receive my full and firm support, but they cannot be at their peak every day. Perhaps it is the excessive external pressure that caused them to appear so confused and helpless when standing in front of the stands after the game just now; I don't know. Seeing the look on their faces as they stood there blankly, I was even a little surprised. The lads absolutely do not need to carry a heavy burden of guilt as if they have committed a heinous crime.

What has happened in the past is set, and the future entirely depends on what kind of blueprint we dare to envision. As long as we dare to dream, anything is possible. I have infinitely broad expectations for the future of this team, and our entire team will certainly spare no effort to achieve it. Please trust us. If you feel that our progress is too slow, you are welcome to point it out frankly, there is no problem with that. Regardless, we will steadfastly continue on this path.

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