Klopp and Xavi face off as Germany visit Netherlands in Nations League derby
Jürgen Klopp’s Germany will visit Xavi Hernández’s Netherlands in Amsterdam on Thursday night for a Nations League fixture, the two coaches having met on Monday ahead of the match.
Both countries arrive after disappointing World Cup campaigns and have handed new managers immediate tasks: Klopp, appointed in July, has been conspicuously energetic in public since taking the Germany job, while Xavi’s arrival in Amsterdam makes him the Netherlands’ first foreign manager since Ernst Happel’s 10-month stint ended in 1978.
Klopp has mixed characteristic humour with preparation, saying: “The good thing is that we both have the exact same situation,” and adding, “Whether that’s an advantage, I don’t know, but it’s still a fact.” He has been publicly upbeat since leaving Liverpool and after a period as Red Bull’s head of global soccer early last year.
Klopp announced a 44-player squad that covers the matches against the Netherlands, Serbia and, home and away, Greece; the expanded group will be split into two halves, with one half due to play on Thursday and in Germany’s next game at home against the Greeks and the remainder involved in the second two fixtures. Only Finn Dahmen, the Augsburg goalkeeper, will be required across the set.
Describing his selection policy, Klopp said: “I want to get to know as many players as possible,” and added: “There is no A or B team. The squads are put together in a way that makes sense on the pitch and in terms of character and experience.” The list contains four Freiburg players, Felix Keidel of promoted Elversberg, Mika Baur of Celtic and Hoffenheim winger Bambasé Conté among others; the Brentford midfielder Vitaly Janelt joins his teammate Kevin Schade, and 16 of those called are uncapped.
Xavi has kept public commentary tightly focused on the present, stating: “I don’t talk about the past,” while reshaping the Netherlands squad; he recalled Borussia Dortmund’s Joey Veerman, who has not played international football for more than two years, and retained Virgil van Dijk as captain despite the defender having considered international retirement during the summer. Xavi’s options may be further bolstered when Frenkie de Jong and Donyell Malen have returned from injury.
Klopp’s staff convened at their Herzogenaurach headquarters last weekend to watch domestic matches together, and he has framed his role in broader terms, including an intervention in favour of “positive patriotism” after an election victory by the AfD party in Saxony‑Anhalt. Max Rosenfelder of Freiburg, one of the newcomers, described Klopp as “a very, very special person”.
The managers’ immediate test is the Nations League schedule over the next fortnight, with Germany’s 44-player pool split across four fixtures — the Netherlands, Serbia and two games against Greece — and half the selection set to feature in Thursday’s match and the subsequent home game against Greece.