Klopp remains optimistic about the German national team despite the draw against Greece

The German national soccer team says goodbye to the first international break with a mixed record. This time the only thing missing in the second leg against Greece is the goal. But one person is ecstatic: national coach Jürgen Klopp.

For two weeks people had been saying and writing that even Jürgen Klopp couldn't do magic. The national coach can do that very well: Hardly anyone can influence perception in an almost magical way like Klopp. Anyone who wants to know how the trick works got an impression of it after the German national soccer team's solid 0-0 draw against Greece in Thessaloniki.

Klopp is known for making players better and for making them perform well above their actual level. Now the national coach seems to want to do this with the whole of football Germany. He focuses on strengths instead of talking about weaknesses. “The boys played an incredible football game that was top in all areas, really top,” he said on RTL after the final whistle. And boom, you question your own assessment.

But was that really it? "Incredible"? The game was the conclusion of the big field test that the national coach dared to do during the XXL international break. He nominated a total of 44 players for the four games, divided into two halves. While "Kader I" courageously defended a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands and lost comfortably against Greece, "Kader II" won 2-0 against Serbia and tried diligently to score a goal in Thessaloniki for 60 minutes and then lost the thread at some point.

Fans on rooftops, shaky internet

They also had difficult circumstances. Already on the way to the Toumba Stadium in Thessaloniki it was clear that this would not be a normal football game. The aging concrete bowl without a roof is located in the city, surrounded by residential buildings and a high school. With every meter you get closer to the building, the smell of the charcoal grill from the food vendors hits your nose. This is accompanied by the rattling of the generators that power the lights at the jersey stands.

It's a dream for football romantics. The walls were built in the 1950s and have not been modernized for 20 years. Graffiti lines the walls outside, the floodlight masts were added later, just as a huge steel structure supports the roof of the main stand. Inside, the internet connection is spotty at best, and the toilets sometimes lack water to wash your hands. Because there is no roof to obscure the view, a group of young people watch the game from a neighboring house roof.

And it's not just the stadium, but also the almost 30,000 fans in it. At the latest when it comes to the DFB team line-up it becomes clear: This can be really unpleasant. The national coach received cautious applause, but the DFB players were whistled mercilessly beforehand. The beginning of the German anthem is drowned out in boos and whistles.

Almost an early shock

In technical language, something like this is called a cauldron. The Greek fans shout their team forward with constant shouts of "Hel-las", sometimes the thousands also clap in rhythm. Either way: it's loud. Perhaps a little impressed by this, the DFB team almost fell behind early on: after a cross, captain Georgios Masouras headed the ball. DFB goalkeeper Jonas Urbig prevented the score from making it 0-1 with a brilliant save in the second minute.

The opportunity wakes up the DFB team in good time. Afterwards it seems as if the Klopp team had actually learned from the first leg defeat against Greece. The control center, Aleksandar Pavlovic, directs the game with quick and clever passes. With quick combinations, captain Florian Wirtz and Tom Bischof even manage to crack the Greek phalanx every now and then.

On the wing, Derry Scherhant from Freiburg, whose middle name is Lionel, is constantly causing alarm. Malick Thiaw and Waldemar Anton leave no doubt on the defensive. When the DFB team loses the ball, three or four men in black pinstripe jerseys swarm around their opponents. It looks a lot more like Klopp football than it did in Augsburg.

Silence, then applause

It goes like this until the Toumba Stadium suddenly becomes completely quiet in the 37th minute. Scherhant comes to cross on his left side, Jonathan Burkardt pokes the ball into the goal in the penalty area. The teams are already at kick-off again, no one has complained, when the VAR switches on from outside. A short time later the Greeks applaud: the hit doesn't count. The ball hit Bishop's arm in the center circle. The DFB team therefore continues to put pressure on the Greek goal. The Klopp team creates chance and chance - but they don't score a goal.

The break comes after the break. Greece substitutes BVB talent Konstantinos Karetsas. And the game is changing in other ways too: Hellas suddenly appears much more toxic and the DFB team loses itself in old patterns. Light Paraguay flashbacks are doing the rounds. Meanwhile, the audience oscillates back and forth between whistling and shouting “Hellas”. And with Karetsas they suddenly have a player who can do something with his colleagues' long balls.

This also puts an end to the DFB's offensive efforts. Substitute Said El Mala crosses a ball to Athens, his colleague Mika Baur does the same after a direct pass. Nick Woltemade is on the scoresheet as a substitute, but he hardly appears. The conclusion was drawn by substitute captain Wirtz on RTL. "I think we put up a lot of pressure. We just didn't score the stupid goal in the end. It's annoying, but we can still be happy with how we played," he said. "There was a lot of good stuff. Of course it's not all bad."

A telling sentence

This ends national coach Klopp's first international trip to Amsterdam, Augsburg and Munich in the small press room of the Toumba Stadium. Before entering the room, he quickly signs a Germany jersey for a fan, then explains that he had seen a great first half. And many details that are incredibly important. "I could say a lot more, but I don't want to drive the interpreter crazy," explains Klopp.

Sure, the two belong together, but apart from the footballing development: the first balance is rather mixed: four games, one win, three goals, five points. This would have made things uncomfortable for his predecessor. After the first and second leg, the DFB team has already lost their duel against Greece. They are three points behind the places that would qualify for the Nations League quarter-finals. This means that the pressure on results is greater in November.

But Klopp sticks to his rather rose-tinted view of things. "I wouldn't have thought that such football would be possible after a week with this group. That's outstanding," said the national coach. German football was still in ruins a few weeks ago. But: "I worked with 44 German football players for two weeks, they certainly don't lack any talent," says Klopp. He could write a book about anyone - "and a really great one."

At the end he says something that more realistically describes the current state of his team. "It's an old rule: If you're not better than others, then tactics are there to bring them down to your level and get rid of them," explains the national coach. "And that's the current idea." The DFB team took the first step “and I’m super happy about that.” There's still some time until November.