Companion to national coach
“Nagelsmann was really disappointed”
June 2, 2026 – 4:43 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
During his time as a club coach, the current DFB coach wanted to hire a friend as an assistant. The attempt failed – and had personal consequences.
In 2026, Julian Nagelsmann will be the national coach of the German national team and will be heading into his first World Cup as head of the DFB team in a few weeks. His beginnings in the Bundesliga as the young head coach of TSG Hoffenheim seem like a lifetime ago – but those years were formative for the now 38-year-old, both professionally and personally. At one point there was almost a complete break with his great friend and sponsor.
Alexander Schmidt revealed this in the t-online podcast “Nagelsmann – The Youngest One”. It was in January 2018. Nagelsmann’s then assistant coach Alfred Schreuder had just said goodbye to Ajax Amsterdam, suddenly he needed a new assistant – and remembered Schmidt. The two met in the youth department of FC Augsburg in 2000 and immediately developed a close connection. Two years later, the duo moved together to the then Bundesliga club TSV 1860 Munich and remained in touch afterwards.
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Schmidt was a junior coach at Red Bull Salzburg at the time and said he felt comfortable there. Nevertheless, the appeal of being able to work in the Bundesliga was great. Schmidt even traveled to Hoffenheim to clarify the final details – but was not allowed to attend TSG training because of the contract with Salzburg that had not yet been terminated.
Companion about Nagelsmann: “He was extremely disappointed”
After two days of waiting in the hotel, he made a surprising and momentous decision: “I don’t know, I wasn’t so convinced and then turned him down,” remembers Schmidt. And further: “In principle everything was negotiated and he was very disappointed.” This obviously affected Nagelsmann deeply: “That was a bit of a sticking point, he was really disappointed,” Schmidt continued.
