'Political issues can harm a team': Coach Nagelsmann Urges German Squad To Focus Solely On Game

It seems that era of Germany soccer team making political statements has come to an end. Coach Julian Nagelsmann has expressed his desire for players to focus solely on game and refrain from engaging in political gestures.

Julian Nagelsmann's No-Nonsense Message

“We saw in Qatar (at 2022 World Cup) that too many political issues can harm a team,” Nagelsmann told brocaster NTV on Tuesday. “I think we've all learned from that and should all learn from that. That's why we have experts who take care of se things and should take care of m. We're experts in sports and take care of sports.” Germany flopped at World Cup in Qatar after a campaign overshowed by criticism of host country's human rights record. Many German fans called for a boycott of tournament — some bars in Berlin and beyond refused to show it — and players and politicians alike me gestures in support of equal rights and tolerance.

German minister Nancy Faeser wore a “One Love” armband beside FIFA president Gianni Infantino while Germany players covered ir mouths for team photo before ir opening World Cup match to protest FIFA's clampdown on armband, widely seen as a rebuke to Qatar.

Nagelsmann's comments on Tuesday echo those given last week by Germany captain Joshua Kimmich, who expressed regret about team's gestures in Qatar, saying y “took away from joy of tournament.” “It's not our job to express ourselves politically,” Kimmich said.

Human rights are an issue again with Saudi Arabia set to be confirmed as host of 2034 World Cup at a FIFA congress on Dec. 11. Saudi Arabia is only candidate. Brocaster RTL reported that German soccer federation will vote in favor of kingdom as host despite criticism from tre unions and human rights groups such as Amnesty, Human Rights Watch and FairSquare.

But Nagelsmann says human rights issues should not concern his team.

“In end, it's not me as a coach or we as a team who make decision (for World Cup host) but decisions are me in completely different areas, different spheres. It doesn't have that much to do with us. We have to prepare ourselves accordingly wherever tournament is taking place,” Nagelsmann said. “I think it's obvious that not everything is perfect in Saudi Arabia. But again, that's not for us to assess.” 

(With AP inputs)