National soccer team: Kimmich grows as a captain: emerging as a leader

Of course Joshua Kimmich got on the plane to Budapest. It would be crazy to even think that the captain of the national soccer team could use his slight ankle injury from the seven-goal festival against Bosnia-Herzegovina as an excuse to take a few days off to recover.

“The likelihood with Josh is always high that he will collect a lot of minutes, physically and mentally he is always able to play through, he is someone who never wants a break,” said Julian Nagelsmann about the Bayern professional.

At the end of the national team’s big year of change from a crisis team to a fun combo, Kimmich, after several years of trying, has emerged as the new, now real leading figure. “Being captain of the German national team is the greatest honor for me. I feel responsible for the entire team,” he said, describing his self-image as captain – regardless of the relevance of the game.

The starting position for the last international match of the European Championship year is known. In terms of sport, the football world will not change due to the outcome of the game against Hungary on Tuesday (8.45 p.m./ZDF). Germany are group winners and are looking forward to the quarter-finals of the Nations League in March with great self-confidence and just as much fun. The flow should be carried into 2025. Hungary has to finish third in the relegation playoffs, that is also certain. In the past there would have been a lot of cancellations before a trip like this.

It is all the more remarkable that Nagelsmann was able to tackle the company outing to Budapest with a large squad; There was no collective exodus of the squad as on comparable occasions – even Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah, who was suspended, was there as a Hungarian tourist. At the beginning of the course, the national coach highlighted a change in mentality. “The most fundamental thing that has changed is that everyone is there, despite the aches and pains. Everyone wants to play,” said the head coach.

Everyone wants to be there. This has always been true for Kimmich. It was not for nothing that the negative image of him as an overly ambitious man was attached to him. From a positive perspective, the 29-year-old has always been the type of model professional, and the latter interpretation has never seemed as dominant as it does today. With the official appointment as captain, Kimmich has grown, on and off the pitch. “Leadership can only be achieved together. Everyone has their role. Sometimes you have to be a diplomat, sometimes you have to address things clearly,” Kimmich told “Stern”.

No Kimmich complaint about position

Somehow the Munich native also seems relieved of a burden. He accepted the move back from the six-man position to the right-back position at the beginning of the year without complaint. He understood that after the massive tournament disappointments at the 2018 World Cup, the 2021 European Championships and the 2022 World Cup, there were now only a few chances to correct his external image of being extremely lucky and unsuccessful in the DFB team.

There are no statements or evidence, but Kimmich also seems more confident since the world champion generation around Manuel Neuer, Thomas Müller and Toni Kroos is no longer part of the national team. The replacement of the Rio champions in the DFB hierarchy was ultimately a long-term project that Nagelsmann’s predecessor, Joachim Löw, gently initiated, but never consistently pursued. The Kimmich generation never quite stepped out of the shadow of the heroes of 2014 – now they have to and are doing it.

Kimmich himself is the symbolic figure. His self-doubt, his fear of “falling into a hole” after the dramatic failure at all levels at the World Cup in Qatar; all of this is documented and discussed. Instead of a hole, cloud nine is now announced and Kimmich also speaks confidently about sports policy issues such as a possible repetition of the moral debate towards the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia. Football should come first for footballers. Politicians should take care of politics. That’s his opinion.

It has recently become increasingly clear that there is also the human Kimmich, as well as the father of four. A press conference at the European Championship camp with my friend David Raum was memorable with a lot of human touch. A tree planting campaign for which he and colleagues went to a hardware store went viral. Then the fans saw: This Kimmich isn’t always so tight-lipped. “Football is important, but I’m no longer defined solely by my job,” he said. The reason is also his children. They don’t care whether Dad wins or loses, they want to play catch at half past six in the morning.

Best in the third or fourth half

The instinct to play seems to be genetically stronger in the Kimmich family. “He’s the kind of person who shouts, ‘Let’s play a third or fourth half when the others say we’ve had enough,'” Nagelsmann reported on training impressions.

It will be his 97th international match against Hungary. The 100th could be the semi-finals of the Nations League in June – ideally as hosts in their home arena in Munich. At the 2026 World Cup, he will be the only DFB player to have played more than 100 international matches. “I really hope that we can achieve something at the 2026 World Cup and I believe in our team because they have enormous potential,” said Kimmich.