ENGLAND NEED SOMEONE WHO IS STREETWISE LIKE MULLER
SAYS GERMANY LEGEND JURGEN KLINSMANN
JURGEN KLINSMANN keeps bringing the conversation back to one man. The German legend knows who he believes will make the difference at Wembley.
it is a player whose qualities England do not have, declares Klinsmann. He does not use these exact words, but what he is alluding to is force of personality, streetsmarts, perhaps even cynicism. maybe those traits are why Germany have reached 14 major finals, and England just one.
‘Thomas muller is the real difference-maker,’ announces Klinsmann ahead of the last-16 showdown. ‘i would say this game is 50-50. But if muller has his day, with his experience and his drive, my hope is that he gets that moment and steps up.
‘That does not mean he needs to score goals,’ he says of the man to whom he gave his senior debut when in charge of Bayern munich in 2008. ‘He just needs to connect the pieces and get the right energy going among his team — and give them the belief they can do that. He’s the connector of this team and i don’t see England with a player like that.’
But surely England have players of an equal, if not greater technical ability than muller (right)?
‘No, it’s not about that level,’ counters Klinsmann. ‘They are all at the highest level. it’s about the type of game they are playing. England have to influence it more with individual brilliance, taking people on, doing something creative. Jack Grealish is exciting, fun to watch. Phil Foden, mason mount, they all have their brilliant moments.
‘But throughout the 90 minutes, you cannot name one English player who you think: “Okay, he really runs the show, he dictates the tempo, he calms things down or maybe goes to the face of the referee and makes a complaint”.
‘like the famous spanish team with Carles Puyol. Every time there was a tricky moment, you saw him in the face of everybody. That’s what i mean, a certain type
of leader. it doesn’t necessarily mean he has to be brilliant with everything he does individually, but he runs the show in a certain way. Thomas runs the show for the entire attacking element of the German side.’
Without muller, Klinsmann believes there would be no England versus Germany on Tuesday.
The Germans are only in the knockout rounds because of a late goal to draw 2-2 with Hungary in their final group fixture. muller, starting from the bench because of a slight knee problem, was introduced for his 105th cap as panic set in.
‘Hungary, that was scary,’ says Klinsmann. ‘But then Thomas came on for the last 20 minutes and calmed everyone down. He told them what to do up front and they figured out a way to create two or three chances. Thankfully, one of them went in. He made the difference: “Just relax a second guys, we’re going to do it”.’
Klinsmann told Sportsmail on the eve of the tournament that the expectation in his homeland was for their team to reach the semis, at the very least. so what is the mood like in Germany after a far from convincing group stage?
‘There is anticipation for the game, but also mixed feelings due to the types of performance,’ said the man who won the World Cup in 1990 and Euros in ’96, beating England in both semis. ‘There are a lot of question marks the fans have. it is very difficult to judge where this team stands. ‘They played okay against France, but lost with an own goal. Very good against Portugal (won 4-2). That is the Germany we’ve been waiting to see.
‘But when it comes to England versus Germany, excitement takes over — it’s do or die. Public viewing will be everywhere — you just wish it was the semi-final or final.’ at the World Cup in Russia three summers ago, Klinsmann was just arriving in the country as Germany were going home, the holders humiliated by a groupstage exit.
‘i saw Gareth southgate build a backbone in that tournament for what we see now. it’s exciting to see from the outside, that pipeline of young players coming through.
‘Gareth has turned this England side into what it is today. The squad, and especially the first Xi, is good enough to go all the way to the final. He can be very proud of what he’s done, but everything will be measured by results.’
Joachim low’s time is up after this tournament. He took charge after being Klinsmann’s assistant at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, a journey to the semis that signalled the rebirth of the national team. Eight years later, in Brazil, they lifted the World Cup.
‘Jogi and i wanted attractive, entertaining, attack-minded football,’ says Klinsmann. ‘Then we started to implement it. What Jogi has done in these 15 years is amazing. i just hope he gets his exit on a high but i just hope it’s not on Tuesday night!’
JURGEN KLINSMANN is part of the BBC Football team. Follow Euro 2020 on the BBC across TV, radio and online