Toni Kroos is back in the national team. But who plays next to him in Julian Nagelsmann’s midfield? There can only be one consistent and correct answer to this: Leverkusen’s Robert Andrich.
By Kai Esser
The Bundesliga is taking a breather, it’s the international break again. This also means that there are around 83 million national coaches in Germany.
Right now, at the last international training course of the season and before the start of the European Championship in our own country, the discussions about possible nominations for the squad and also for the starting eleven have flared up even more.
Every position is currently up for debate, even that of the goalkeeper. Particularly in focus, however: the central midfield.
Toni Kroos is set. Logically, the Real Madrid pacesetter wouldn’t have been brought out of retirement if his regular place wasn’t a guarantee set in stone. There should also be no question that he is currently the best German midfielder. To paraphrase national coach Julian Nagelsmann: “Anyone who still writes ‘Querpass-Toni’ unfortunately has no idea about football.” Word.
The most important thing about the national team
But regardless of whether it’s a four-man or three-man chain: Kroos needs at least one man next to him. Basically the conductor’s assistant who orchestrates those in front of him.
Captain Ilkay Gündogan should take on a more offensive role. The national coach has already revealed as much.
The selection is still large: Pascal Groß, Robert Andrich and Aleksandar Pavlovic, who had to withdraw due to illness, as well as the non-nominated Leon Goretzka are eligible.
However, the answer can only be one: Kroos’ partner at the home European Championships must be Robert Andrich.
Andrich as a pioneer: Germany finally has to think defensively
The problem for the German national team, even during the six-year crisis, was rarely scoring goals. The team had a particularly difficult time preventing goals.
The DFB team has been waiting for a clean sheet for ten games, during which time they have conceded a whopping 22 goals. The majority of opponents during this period were not necessarily world class, to say the least.
In particular, the switching movement after losing the ball was often incorrect. In direct duels, Nagelsmann’s team often doesn’t look that bad.
And who could solve this problem better than a player from probably the strongest team in Europe at the moment, Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Thanks to Xabi Alonso and thanks to the team from the Rhineland that worked from 1 to 23, Andrich has developed the instinct of when he has to counter-press in order to win the ball or at least prevent a quick counter-attack. The Berlin native thinks defensively and that would also be good for the national team.
Incidentally, this is exactly what Kroos has perfected over the years, increasingly playing the deep role in Real Madrid’s midfield when Eduardo Camavinga and Federico Valverde seek salvation on the touchline. It’s these things that the team was completely missing – at least so far.
This content comes from external providers such as Facebook, Instagram or YouTube. Please enable personalized ads and content as well as providers outside of the CMP standard to display this content.Privacy settings
DFB team: Don’t be afraid of big names
Of course, the name Robert Andrich could raise eyebrows among many foreign journalists if they found him on the starting grid.
However, and this is an old saying, it is not the eleven best individual players who win a tournament, but the best functioning team. It is unclear whether that team would work best with the 28-year-old alongside Kroos, but it is quite likely.
Nagelsmann indicated the same thing at the press conference for the latest squad announcement. The still young national coach is not allowed to stop at big names. It is logical that Goretzka, who had been in poor form for a long time, was not invited.
Andrich knows Kroos’ style of play from the club
Another aspect that speaks for the Leverkusen player: Not only does he know the club’s clean backward movement, he also knows Toni Kroos’ style of play – thanks to his partner Granit Xhaka.
The Swiss probably looks the most like the 2014 World Cup winner of any top-level midfielder this season. Xhaka isn’t the fastest, but he doesn’t have to be, as he makes up for a lot with his positional play and his clean technique.
The former Arsenal captain also acts like Kroos with the ball. He occupies important spaces, often plays balls with contact and his game shifts are unparalleled in the Bundesliga.
The ability to destroy pressing situations with a clearing pass also unites the two. It’s quite conceivable that Andrich and Kroos understand each other blindly. The fact that this would be the achievement of Germany’s group opponent Xhaka would only close the circle.
Andrich arrives with titles and self-confidence
Due to his outstanding form, Andrich is virtually bursting with self-confidence. Things looked different in the fall, when it was virtually impossible to get past Exequiel Palacios. Now the Argentine world champion is both a little out of shape and ailing, which the former Union player Andrich has taken advantage of.
In addition, the Leverkusen delegation around Andrich, Florian Wirtz and Jonathan Tah will probably arrive with at least one title in their luggage. In the Bundesliga, the gap to FC Bayern Munich has grown to a comfortable ten points, in the DFB Cup there are only three lower-class clubs standing in the way of the title and the Werkself are also in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
And who knows – hardly any national coach would want to miss out on a possible triple winner.