"Far from the truth": Schmidt dismisses Nagelsmann rumor

Roger Schmidt, Red Bull’s new global head of soccer, has downplayed rumors of Julian Nagelsmann’s return to Leipzig. “We’re a long way from that. We want a certain degree of continuity in the coaching position at all our locations,” the 59-year-old said on ZDF-Sportstudio. Schmidt took over as Jürgen Klopp’s successor in the role on October 1.

Because Leipzig’s new coach, Martin Demichelis, had started the Bundesliga season with just two wins in four games before the convincing 6-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt, the Argentine came under criticism. Sky brought up the name of former Leipzig coach Nagelsmann earlier this week, but also emphasized that no concrete talks had taken place yet.

Argentine Mentality

On Thursday, Schmidt had his first opportunity to speak at length with Demichelis in Leipzig. ““I liked that. I also have experience with Argentine players. I like their mentality. There’s a reason they always go far in tournaments,” said the former Benfica Lisbon coach. Argentines bring “that certain something you need to win games.” He has the same impression of Demichelis.

According to Schmidt, rumors like those surrounding Nagelsmann are “normal these days.” “In soccer, you have to deal with these kinds of issues when you lose a couple of games,” said Schmidt. Following the victory over Frankfurt, he now called for the team to build on that success on Tuesday against his former club, PSV Eindhoven. “We need a win in the Champions League because we lost the first game there.”

Next up for Leipzig are away games against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. “The potential is there to play well against Bayern and Real. You can be that confident,” Schmidt said.