Miroslav Klose offers a different path in German coaching

A former teammate of Miroslav Klose believes the coach is bucking a trend in German football. In charge at Nürnberg, “Miro” values continuity and the club’s identity, in contrast with a game shaped, in this analysis, by frequent coaching changes and managers who did not play professionally.

The argument also speaks to the value of keeping teams together at the highest level. Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain could claim the trophy for a third successive season. Since the competition was rebranded in 1992, only Real Madrid have managed that run, from 2016 to 2018. Nine Madrid players started all three of those finals. PSG, too, reached its two finals with almost unchanged line-ups. The sole change cited came in Budapest during the title defence: Gianluigi Donnarumma was no longer in goal after Luis Enrique and the Italian goalkeeper parted ways.

Continuity can also be seen in other major European runs. Ajax, from 1971 to 1973, and Bayern Munich, from 1974 to 1976, each fielded seven players in all three finals. In Madrid’s five-win sequence that began in 1956, nine players appeared in at least three finals and three featured in all five. The analysis also points to similar patterns at PSG, Arsenal and Barcelona, arguing that elite managers have absorbed the value of such stability.

The approach is presented as a broad blueprint for success, heavily shaped by the Spanish coaching tradition represented by Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta and Luis Enrique. Its clearest departures, the writer argues, are found in Germany, where there are signs of a distinctive path.

Klose provides one example at Nürnberg. In his third season at the club, he is in a promotion place. Repetition, the analysis suggests, has helped establish a stable core. After having to rebuild his defence following summer transfers, he seems to have settled quickly on his back four. His connection with the club’s identity is also reflected in his choice of local Franconian goalkeeper Jan Reichert as captain.

That stability could matter to a club that has been in the second tier since 2014, apart from one season, and is seeking to make the most of its location. FCN has a distinguished history: only Bayern Munich have won more German league titles. Club icon Max Morlock gave Germany the opening goal of the 1954 World Cup final.