Despite missed chances, Klopp praises former BVB star Adeyemi | OneFootball

A major miss against the Netherlands could have overshadowed Karim Adeyemi’s performance. But after his debut as Germany coach, Jürgen Klopp is focusing on something else.

He was not exactly disappointed with Adeyemi, knowing full well that the forward really could have taken his big chance from Nathaniel Brown’s assist.

In the 1-1 draw in Amsterdam, Adeyemi was in the starting lineup and was substituted for Serge Gnabry in the 80th minute. Despite the missed big chance, Klopp gave a positive assessment of the attacker when asked ahead of the Greece match and left no doubt that he sees him as a valuable option for the national team.

“Karim offers a great, great deal that I would really love to incorporate into our game,” said Klopp, adding: “Can he play better as part of the team that drew 1-1? Of course. But he also could have played a lot worse.” The Germany coach particularly highlighted his pace: the former Dortmund player is among the fastest players in the country.

The miss does not overshadow Klopp’s overall verdict

After the missed chance, Adeyemi was still affected in a few situations, Klopp said. And that is exactly where the national coach wants to begin—not with criticism, but with a development task.

“Normally he scores that chance, even if the ball is bouncing and played in with pace. But he blasts it over,” Klopp said, describing his impressions. He described handling such moments as a key task: “That is the big challenge in a footballer’s life. And we are working on making sure he stays in the game afterward.” About the professional, who now plays for FC Barcelona, he also said: “A wonderful guy and a very pleasant person.”

Photo: IMAGO

Adeyemi was not the only player with BVB ties in Klopp’s opening match. Nico Schlotterbeck and Felix Nmecha were also in the starting lineup: Schlotterbeck impressed over the full 90 minutes with his presence in the air and in build-up play, while Nmecha gave Germany the lead in the 32nd minute before leaving the field in the 64th minute for Anton Stach. Cody Gakpo equalized late on.

For Klopp, with Adeyemi it is less about the individual moment than about integrating him into the collective. As an example, he cited a moment from the match in which Younes Ebnoutalib played the ball into Adeyemi’s path despite Micky van de Ven being close by. “We still have to learn how to use each player’s top qualities, especially when they haven’t played together that often yet,” said Klopp.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.