Do you know who it is?
All of Germany knows his brother
Updated 10/13/2025 – 12:30 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
They both work in football: one at the top, the other at the bottom, at the grassroots level. The Nagelsmann brothers’ careers took different paths. Where Julian’s brother works.
One is the coach of the German national soccer team, the other is the game manager in the Rhön soccer district in Lower Franconia. Both have the same last name: Nagelsmann. Julian is probably known throughout Germany as the man who is currently fighting for qualification for the 2026 World Cup with the DFB men. Hardly anyone knows the other one.
André Nagelsmann is at least as important as his younger brother Julian. The 48-year-old works in his free time as a game manager in amateur football. As an official at the district level, he is responsible for overseeing game operations. Without people like Nagelsmann nothing works in the Bavarian Football Association.
While André works on a voluntary basis in sports, Julian, who is nine years his junior, receives a rumored salary of almost five million euros per year. Both serve football in the DFB, one at the bottom, at the grassroots level. The other one at the top.
André Nagelsmann reported on what it’s like with a brother as national coach in November 2024 on the Bavarian Radio program “Blickpunkt Sport”. It quickly became clear that the two worlds were separate. “In terms of football, not so much,” said André Nagelsmann when asked whether he would discuss the sport with Julian. “Sure, it’s the same game, but a completely different level and completely different worries and needs that you have to take care of.”
The 47-year-old volunteer, who works full-time as a customs officer, then described the problems he deals with as a game manager in amateur football. “For us it’s whether a pitch is even playable and whether the team brings together enough people or whether the games can take place.”
André Nagelsmann admitted that the Nagelsmann brothers’ work is quite different in terms of content. “[Beim Julian] It’s about introducing and employing the elite of German football. That’s why the exchange about football isn’t there. But of course there are other things brothers can talk about.”
Christoph Kern, President of the Bavarian Football Association (BFV), also emphasized in BR how immensely important the work of volunteers like André Nagelsmann is in football. Only with the help of volunteers “can we guarantee sustainable football in Bavaria.” 1.6 million members and 4,500 clubs depend on volunteer work. “Without volunteers, there is no elite,” says Kern.
“Without those in the background who do this work on a voluntary basis, like the one I do, this amateur sport, this amateur football, would not be possible,” agreed André Nagelsmann. It takes a lot of persuasion, he said, to convince people to volunteer. Ultimately, it gives you a good feeling to be able to do something for others.