Sport Bild: Mr. Yakin, the last preliminary round game is against Germany on Sunday. What’s next for Switzerland?
Murat Yakin (49): Germany are favourites for the European Championship, and not just because of home advantage. The German team has some excellent footballers like Florian Wirtz, Toni Kroos and Jamal Musiala. The team has stabilized in 2024.
Swiss coach Murat Yakin has a very high opinion of his goalkeeper
New national coach Julian Nagelsmann played a big role in this. What do you think of him?
Julian Nagelsmann has a good presence, he is very confident, his demeanor is good and he is modern. He is young and yet has already gained a lot of experience. And: it was not only during the European Championship nomination that he showed that he has to and can make bold decisions.
And sporty?
He has an eye for details like this question: which players should I bring in to stabilize the team? Bringing Toni Kroos back also required courage. He has a lot of experience, he has a calm demeanor and makes his teammates stronger. You know: with Toni Kroos you have someone who knows how it works. That helps a lot.
Honest statementScholl: “I’m not proud of it!”
He praised Wirtz and Musiala. How difficult is it to overcome them?
Both are street footballers, they play directly with an incomparable enthusiasm for the game. Controlling them will be a big task for us – a particular challenge for me too. It is best not to let them get to the ball in the first place.
Switzerland failed at the European Championship 2021 after losing the round of 16 win against France to advance to the round of last eight against Spain. Is more possible this time?
We bring more experience. Manuel Akanji won the treble with Manchester City in 2023. Yann Sommer became Italian champion with Inter Milan last season, Granit Xhaka with Bayer Leverkusen. They pivot for this purpose. This gives other players the confidence to take more risks.
You said in an interview that your goalkeeper Yann Sommer was dragged into a slingshot of shit during his time at FC Bayern. What do you mean by that?
This statement was not related to the club. It refers to the public, to the experts, who have already dealt with him very harshly. In Germany, something like this only happens at Bayern when a player does not perform as expected.
Sommer faced criticism from Bayern for several mistakes in the second half of the 2022/23 season…
I know Yan as a person and know what confidence he needs to achieve top performance. When he joined the national team, you could tell his time at Bayern had left its mark on him. It was all over. He had a great season at Inter.
Every fan must see thisWhat Krause is suggesting here is great!
You made the decision to become No. 1 early in the summer. Borussia Dortmund’s Gregor Kobel was not happy with this.
I am very lucky that we have so many good goalkeepers, it is a luxury to be in. Which national coach is so lucky to have both the Italian champion goalkeeper and the Champions League finalist goalkeeper in his team?
Which is currently led by Xhaka as your captain. Did his club coach Xabi Alonso make him better at Leverkusen?
Yes. At Arsenal he played more in the team as an eighth man with a lot of desire to score. At Leverkusen, Xabi Alonso gave him a more important role, he plays in the control center in midfield. This means he is constantly in the game, leading the team and even committing tactical fouls.
Finally: how good is it to work as a coach in the Bundesliga?
My full focus is on the national team. But of course: if you’ve already been in the Bundesliga as a player (Stuttgart, Kaiserslautern; editor), the appeal is there. The Bundesliga is fantastic. Almost every game is sold out. Great clubs and fans. You’ll definitely want to experience it at some point.
