Sepp Maier, a Bayern Munich legend, gave an interview to Abendzeitung München discussing Jürgen Klopp's start as Germany's national team coach and the goalkeeper competition between Marc-André ter Stegen, Ulreich, and Nübel. Regarding Ulreich, who was expected to start for Germany, Maier believes expectations are rising too quickly for him.

Germany drew with the Netherlands 1-1 and then lost to Greece 0-1. How do you assess Klopp's first two matches?

Of course, everyone hoped for a better start. A draw and a loss are not results we wanted from the German national team, but it's not fair to say everything is worthless. You can see what Klopp wants: speed, determination, and attacking football. However, many aspects of the team are still not settled. It would be incredible if everything ran smoothly after such a short time. Ultimately, Klopp is not a magician. He needs time. What matters is that the team comes together again, and people feel that something is developing.

In Klopp's first match, ter Stegen received special attention. He showed excellent form in his saves, but his passing at times was rather risky. What do you think of his performance in that game?

That's just how it is. There were some shots he had to save, and he saved them excellently, which shows Marc's quality. But then he played some passes from the back that made me think: what are you doing? A goalkeeper needs to know when to stop playing beautiful football. If there's danger, just kick it out. No one will blame you for that. But if you make a mistake in passing right in front of your own goal, that's different.

Were you still surprised by ter Stegen's form after such a long absence?

Yes, I didn't think he would immediately perform so well in saving shots after his return. He made 2-3 excellent saves, some of them world-class. But there's the other side of the game: sometimes he takes too many risks with his passing. So in my opinion, his form has both clear strengths and clear weaknesses.

There was one moment when he passed the ball directly to an opponent, and then he saved it himself. Is this a typical situation for a goalkeeper: creating the fire yourself and then acting as the firefighter?

It's quite absurd, really. You create the fire yourself, and then you play the firefighter. (laughs) The save was excellent, but if he had dealt with the ball well in the first place, he wouldn't have needed to make that save at all. You can't make a bad pass look good just because you save a shot you almost couldn't stop afterward. Marc himself knows these things shouldn't happen to him.

So it's still been a successful return overall?

For his saves, yes, but for his passing, not always. (laughs) However, perhaps we should reconsider what a goalkeeper's job is. His job is to save shots, and Marc does that very well. However, he cannot afford to make passing mistakes like this against top teams. Sooner or later, the opponent will capitalize and punish you.

Passing ability has been praised as one of ter Stegen's main strengths for many years, but in this game he looked uncertain. How do you explain that?

Lack of match rhythm is certainly one reason, but that excuse can't be used forever. Marc is 34 years old. He has all the experience. You can't blame every passing mistake on lack of match rhythm. If you want to be Germany's number one goalkeeper, you have to complete these passes well. If you can't, then don't play like Beckenbauer in your own penalty area.

Speaking of which, let's talk about Ulreich, Bayern's goalkeeper. What do you think of the hype around him?

In my opinion, the hype around Ulreich is quite overdone. Not because I think the young man isn't good—quite the opposite, he's very talented. But everything is developing too quickly. After a few good performances, they want him to become Germany's new number one goalkeeper. Why? Let him become Bayern's number one goalkeeper first.

In other words, for now Ulreich still has to stay behind ter Stegen?

Of course that will be the case now. What's the problem with that? He's only 23. Ter Stegen has been playing at the highest level for years. Meanwhile, Ulreich hasn't proven for a long time that he can be Bayern's number one. Sometimes we admire young players more than what they actually do at this stage.

Kompany believes Ulreich can become Germany's number one goalkeeper in the future. Do you disagree?

In the future? Yes, maybe. He has potential. But there's still a long way between "future" and "now." He needs to play, gain experience, make mistakes, play in the Champions League, and prove he can bounce back after a bad game. You can't make someone Germany's number one goalkeeper just through predictions about the future.

What is Ulreich lacking the most?

Match experience. It's that simple. Everyone talks too much about potential these days, but potential won't save a shot for you on Saturday. Experience doesn't come from training, and it certainly doesn't come from everyone telling you how good you'll be in the future. You have to stand in goal and prove yourself.

If a goalkeeper is just a substitute at his club, can Germany make him their number one?

In my opinion, not in the long run. Germany's number one goalkeeper usually needs to play for his club as well. This position especially requires match rhythm. You can save a hundred shots in training, but it's completely different from playing in front of seventy thousand spectators. Training is training, and matches are matches. It was that way when I played, and it hasn't changed.

Do you think the debate about the goalkeeper position is unnecessary?

For me, yes. Marc has proven he still has the quality. Now let him play and show his skills, and let Ulreich continue developing. If one day Ulreich is better than him, it's still not too late to make a change. But I won't announce a change in the goalkeeper position just because one player is 23 and the other is 34. The decision shouldn't be based on birth dates, but on who can save the ball.

Going back to the match against the Netherlands, do you think Germany needs to worry about the goalkeeper position?

No. If ter Stegen saves like he did against the Netherlands, we don't need to worry. If he passes like he did in some moments of that game, maybe we do need to worry. (laughs) His form surprised me. Sometimes he plays excellently in his saves, but his passing is inconsistent. He needs to correct those mistakes. However, one thing he clearly proved is that it's too early to give up on Marc-André ter Stegen. After all, the position is still called goalkeeper.

Nübel got the chance to play against Greece. Germany lost 0-1, but he faced almost no shots on goal, and the goal conceded wasn't his fault. What do you see in his form?

Honestly, not much. How can I assess a goalkeeper who faced almost no shots on goal? He couldn't do anything about the goal conceded. For Nübel, it wasn't a game where he could easily show his skills. But more importantly, Klopp has confidence in him and showed him he's part of the team's plans. Now Nübel knows he will get opportunities, and ter Stegen knows there's competition behind him.

After the match against the Netherlands, Klopp said ter Stegen is the number one goalkeeper. After Nübel played, do you still consider ter Stegen number one, or is there now a real competition?

In my opinion, as long as ter Stegen remains healthy and plays consistently, he remains number one. But Nübel is pushing hard behind him, which is good. A number one goalkeeper needs confidence but shouldn't be granted privileges above competition. If Marc makes mistakes or doesn't play consistently, and Nübel performs well week after week, it won't take long before there's a debate about the position. Football demands competition, and the goalkeeper position is no exception.

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