Oliver Baumann is considered a possible candidate for a European Championship ticket in the summer. He has known national coach Julian Nagelsmann for a long time. Before the tournament he would like to see more cohesion in Germany.
Oliver Baumann has been playing for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim for almost ten years. During this time, the team captain matured into a German national player and was nominated for the DFB team for the first time in 2020 by then national coach Joachim Löw. Since then, the goalkeeper has been part of the national team from time to time. But it wasn’t enough for use.
This could change soon. A few months before the European Championships in Germany, Baumann is one of the small circle of goalkeepers who can legitimately hope to be nominated for the final tournament squad. Above all, the good relationship with the national coach could play into the 33-year-old’s hands. Julian Nagelsmann was once Baumann’s coach at Hoffenheim.
It has not yet been finally decided whether national coach Baumann will be nominated for the upcoming international matches against France (March 23) and the Netherlands (March 26). Nagelsmann will only announce the squad on Thursday at 2 p.m. Baumann is dueling with Fulham’s Bernd Leno and Frankfurt’s Kevin Trapp for third place in the DFB goal behind Manuel Neuer and Marc-André ter Stegen.
The TSG professional now spoke exclusively to t-online about which goalkeeper he thinks is ahead in the fight for number one in the DFB team, how Julian Nagelsmann acts as national coach compared to his time at Hoffenheim and how he perceives the mood around the national team shortly before the European Championship.
t-online: Mr. Baumann, you are having an outstanding season at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and were nominated for the German national team again at the end of last year. Will the first international match happen in March?
Oliver Baumann: You have to ask the national coach. Every time I’m with the national team, I naturally want my first game to work. But I also know that the upcoming European Championships are getting closer and closer and there are fewer and fewer opportunities to throw in a new goalkeeper.
You are talking about the European Championships in Germany in around three months. What does the thought of being able to take part in a home European Championship do to you?
For me that would be a huge dream. It would be an award and a huge confirmation of my commitment. But until then I still have a lot of games ahead of me with Hoffenheim in which I want to be successful with my team. Summer feels far away right now.
At the weekend you faced Eintracht Frankfurt away from home with TSG and ended up losing 3-1 due to two sendings off. With Kevin Trapp in the Eintracht goal, you faced a potential competitor for a place in the European Championship squad. Does this defeat particularly bother you?
It annoys me that and how we lost. Whoever is in goal on the other side doesn’t matter at all to me. I always look out for us.
When Manu is fit, he has skills that no other goalkeeper in the world has.
Oliver Baumann about Manuel Neuer
Nevertheless: How do you assess the situation in the goal of the German national team? Is there a clear number one?
Marc-André ter Stegen and Manuel Neuer both deserve to be the German number one. But: When Manu is fit, he has skills that no other goalkeeper in the world has.
When it comes to goalkeepers, the motto is often: “There can only be one.” How do you define your own role at the DFB?
I see myself first and foremost as a team member, but of course I would like to be Germany’s number three. I am convinced that I can help – on and off the pitch. Of course, I want to make the decision as easy as possible for Julian (national coach Nagelsmann, editor’s note) through my performance and my demeanor. In the end he has to decide.