Julian Nagelsmann ~ A Football Visionary

[A Thread]

So far in his career, Nagelsmann has become the youngest manager to:

•Become a permanent manager of a Bundesliga Side (28)
•Win Germany’s Manager of the Year Award (29)
•Coach in the Champions League (31)
•Top a UCL group (32)
•Coach a side in the UCL semi-finals (33)

He took over Hoffenhiem in February of the 2015/16 season where they found themselves 17th in the Bundesliga.

He made an immediate impact, winning 7 of the remaining 14 games. He saved them from the seemingly inevitable fate of relegation, and guided them to a 15th placed finish

In 2016/17, Nagelsmann guided his club to a spot in the Champions League for the first time in their history. An unbelievable feat considering they were on the brink of relegation when Nagelsmann took over.

In this season, he masterminded victories over FCB, BVB, and Leipzig.

How did he do this? Nagelsmann is known for bringing innovative methods to his training grounds. At Hoffenheim, he was one of two Bundesliga clubs to use the ‘Footbonaut’ and installing a giant 6x3 metre Videowall.

‘The Footbonaut’

The Footbonaut is a square-shaped arena where balls are hit to players at speed, forcing them to control in a short-space and pass back out into a target area.

Here is a great video introducing the revolutionary piece of equipment.

The VideoWall

The 6x3 metre screen works with four cameras. The feed from each camera is able to be shown on the screen at any time.

This allows Nagelsmann to rewind, stop, or fast forward to particular points of interest for instant tactical assessment, at 4 different angles.

Hoffenheim announced in June 2018 that the forthcoming season would be Julian Nagelsmann’s last and he left for RB Leipzig in June 2019.

He left Hoffenheim a legend, amassing 191 points in the time he had been in charge – only Bayern and Dortmund had accumulated more.

Nagelsmann splits the pitch into 4 central compartments, and then the 2 wide flanks. He divides the pitch in this way in order to breakdown a low, narrow block.

That is why the Footbonaut is so critical, as players receive the ball in tight space, and must pass it on quickly.

This is from a recent Leipzig training video. Notice how tight and congested the middle of the park is. Nagelsmann prepares his players for low blocks, and uses his players quick feet and off the ball movement in order to break down the lines.

Practice made perfect, and in their leg against Atletico Madrid, the practice paid off. Nagelsmann used the same methods employed in his training to break down the Atletico low block, one of the most defensively sound sides in Europe.

Tactical Masterclass

He can be quoted stating "30% of coaching is tactics, 70% is social competence".

This is of course him being humble, as his tactical innovation is the main reason why his stock is raising astronomically, but this also tells you he knows how to get the best from his players.

At the age of 33, Nagelsmann has already rejected offers from Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid, and Arsenal. This shows his absolute brilliance, and the extremely bright future he has in management.

He is destined to become one of the greatest managers of all time.

“All the lights on me, let em’ shine, let em’ shine”

[End Of Thread]