Jürgen Klopp does not want to neglect any detail with the German national team and has set strict rules that all the players must respect, to minimize distractions and try to work in the best possible way during the three weeks available to him thanks to this new and long break. The guidelines were laid out by the coach in a meeting held in August with his technical staff, during which he also clarified the off-field aspects that are most important to him.
Punctuality is a basic requirement for his players, who will have to eat dinner together at a set time, will not be able to use their smartphones on some occasions and will have to give up the hairdresser at the hotel to get ready before matches. According to BILD, the coach immediately communicated the new guidelines to the group, much stricter than those that existed under Nagelsmann until the last World Cup. The attention on Klopp is very high and the debut in the Nations League will be his first experience in charge of the national team, after becoming one of the most influential coaches in world football with Borussia Dortmund and, above all, Liverpool.
Klopp's new rules
Klopp's new rules are based above all on the desire to make the most of the short time spent together during international training camps. The new coach wants to create a more united group, limiting everything that could distract the players or take away opportunities from team life. For this reason, the first rule concerns the management of dinner: under Nagelsmann everyone could choose a time, while now everyone must sit down at the table at the same time, between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. The players and technical staff will eat strictly together, to promote dialogue within the group and to build an identity even off the pitch.
The same philosophy also explains the strict restrictions on the use of smartphones, which must be turned off at certain times of the day, especially in the run-up to matches. Klopp wants the players to interact face-to-face during warm-ups and massages, rather than being isolated in front of a screen for hours. The strangest rule is certainly the one regarding hairdressers, who will no longer be allowed to enter the hotel where the national team is staying, a practice that often occurs in all other teams: anyone who wants to get their hair done must do so before the start of the training camp, because it will be prohibited during it. Family visits are also limited and arranged at specific times. During the few days spent together, for Klopp, Germany must come before everything else, a fundamental concept that could help the team rise after a few not-so-positive months.
