BERLIN: Julian Nagelsmann (pix) has signed a contract extension with the German men’s national team, the domestic football association said Friday, putting to bed speculation of a quick return to club football.
The new deal keeps Nagelsmann with Germany for an additional two years and will see him coach the team at the 2026 World Cup in North America.
“This is a decision from the heart. It is a great honour to coach the national team,“ Nagelsmann said in a statement.
The announcement comes just a few weeks before Germany is set to host the 2024 European championships over June and July.
Nagelsmann said he was “moved by the enthusiasm of the fans” after victories in recent friendlies against France and the Netherlands.
“Together, we now want to have a successful home Euros,“ said Nagelsmann, whose deal with the national team was set to run out after the summer tournament.
The German Football Association (DFB) was already “absolutely convinced” of the need to retain Nagelsmann’s services, national team director Rudi Voeller said in the statement.
Nagelsmann was a “brilliant tactician, who not only has great knowledge of the game, but has the passion to motivate and inspire each and every one of his players”, said the legendary German striker turned executive.
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Nagelsmann’s decision to stick with Germany sent a “strong signal”, DFB president Bernd Neuendorf said in the statement.
The extension meant Germany “can plan with a degree of stability” beyond Euro 2024, Neuendorf said.
It also silenced rumours that Nagelsmann could make a quick return to club football after the tournament and little more than a year after leaving Bayern Munich.
The 36-year-old coach was “on the wish list” for a lot of top clubs in Europe, Neuendorf said.
Nagelsmann was strongly linked with a return to Bayern, who sacked the native Bavarian in March last year after a run of poor results.
Bayern jumped at the chance to replace Nagelsmann with former Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel but things have only gone from bad to worse for the German giants.
This season under Tuchel, Bayern surrendered their Bundesliga crown to Bayer Leverkusen, ending a streak of 11 straight titles.
The failure in the league means Tuchel will leave Bayern at the end of the season.
A successor has yet to be named but two widely touted candidates, Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso and Nagelsmann, are now out of the running.
Germany will be looking to perform on home turf after being dumped out of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar at the group stage.
A miserable run of results following the tournament was enough for DFB management to decide they could not continue with coach Hansi Flick.
Germany’s fortunes have since picked up with Nagelsmann at the helm, boosted by the return to the fold of experienced midfielder Toni Kroos.
Euro 2024 kicks off in Munich on June 14, when Germany face Scotland at Bayern’s Allianz Arena.
