Nagelsmann looking to show staying power

Five years ago, youth coach Julian Nagelsmann was waiting patiently in the shadows in Sinsheim. He'd agreed to take over as Hoffenheim head coach at the beginning of the 2016-17 season but, after a run of just two wins before Christmas, it seemed increasingly like he'd be taking charge in the second division.

It looked at the time like he could well be locking horns with RB Leipzig, whose existence was just becoming noticed by the wider football world after their controversial, energy drink-fuelled rise up the German system. But, after Nagelsmann was parachuted in to the head coach role in February, he pulled off a remarkable run of 20 points from 10 games to keep Hoffenheim afloat, while Ralf Rangnick edged out Nuremberg to win RB promotion to the top flight.

While Nagelsmann switched dugouts in 2019, the two sides switched status some time before that and RB have taken 10 points from the last four league meetings between the two. But ahead of the clash in Sinsheim on Wednesday, Nagelsmann thinks his old club are on the up, despite sitting in 12th.

"We were lucky there last season, particularly early on, we started slowly," he said on Tuesday. "But Hoffenheim have improved and it won't be easy. It makes no difference that they're my old club. I want to win the game and we'll give it our all."

Nagelsmann's charges come in to the match in third, having not lost in the Bundesliga since October, but he's barely been mentioned in the discussion about Lucien Favre's successor at Borussia Dortmund. While that is an indication of the resources, squad and infastructure Nagelsmann enjoys at RB, it's also perhaps an indicator that he's so far been most comfortable in clubs set up to cater to his high intensity, high pressing and tactically flexible style.

Fading away

That style, as successful as it has been, has its drawbacks. After leading the Bundesliga at the winter break last season, Leipzig fell away to finish third. Hoffenheim endured a similar slump in Nagelsmann's final season, winning just a point from their final four games to fall out of the European places. 

"Last year, we were relatively high up at the end of the first half of the season. And in the end, we still had nothing to do with the title fight," said the 33-year-old.   

The suggestion has often been that sides, such as his, who rely on such relentless pressing can tire towards the end of a season. And with Leipzig's winter break just 10 days long in this coronavirus-affected season, the schedule could prove a bigger threat than Bayern Munich, Dortmund or current leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

"Nobody knows exactly how all the teams will deal with the fact that there is little winter break and then there are many midweek league games in the second half of the season," he said.

Frantic fixture list

Though a meticulous planner such as Nagelsmann would prefer more time to work on the training pitch, Leipzig's progress in the Champions League gives them two more midweek matches to contend with, against Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool in February and March. 

The two German coaches have met before in the competition, with Liverpool knocking out Hoffenheim in the playoff in 2017. At the time, Klopp described his counterpart as a "big, big, big coaching talent" and "a good example for a lot of really good young managers in Germany."

Nagelsmann's age is mentioned less these days, with his success and style increasingly to the forefront. But, with a big and high-quality squad at his disposal, he will know that trophies are attainable now in a way they never were at Hoffenheim. Using that squad wisely will be key. 

"If we can manage that, we will end up being one of the challengers for the title," Nagelsmann said. "If we don't get it right, we won't."

With Bayern Munich and Leverkusen playing each other at the weekend, Nagelsmann will top the table heading in to the winter break for the second year in a row with wins in the next two games. But that isn't enough for a coach of his ambition and reputation. Like his career, the important first step has to come at Hoffenheim.