Beier, Beste, and Pavlovic comment on DFB selection: "My heart started pounding."
Three of the players surprisingly called up by Bundestrainer Julian Nagelsmann to the German Nationalmannschaft have provided interesting comments on their surprise selections.
| Maximlian Beier | DFB |
When the roster was revealed on Thursday, however, many Germans were surprised to see a further trio of surprise sections make the cut. TSG 1899 Hoffenheim striker Maximilian Beier made the jump from the Germany U21s. Dual national Aleksandar Pavlovic of FC Bayern München got a call up far earlier than expected. Though there had been some talk of it, the inclusion of Heidenheim's Jan-Niklas Beste constituted a big surprise.
All three have commented on their selection:
Maximilian Beier
The 21-year-old is on record as stating that he felt reasonably comfortable with the German U21s last autumn. When it came to his start to the current calendar year, it appeared as if the youngster still felt as if he had quite a bit to learn before making the leap to the national team. Beier's form surge during the last three months - six league goals and two braces - nevertheless rendered it almost impossible for Nagelsmann to ignore him this time. Beier spoke about getting the call in comments made to Germany's Kicker Magazine.
"It's a huge dream come true for me and I can hardly wait," Beier said of his nomination, "I got the call on Sunday. I was a bit nervous because I had already saved his [Julian Nagelsmann's] number. When I saw the name pop up, my heart started pounding. I couldn't get a proper sentence out during the conversation, just 'Thank you, thank you, I'm very happy'. I was too nervous to say anything else."
Aleksandar Pavlovic
Nagelsmann has already made clear that the 19-year-old's nomination had nothing to do with the Serbian's FA's attempt to recruit him for their national team. In public comments on the matter of selecting Pavlovic above his much more experienced FCB teammate Leon Goretzka, the Bundestrainer insisted that it was not a matter of choosing one over the other. Pavlovic - now a regular starter with the German giants - himself had to explain a choice between two options when speaking to "Sport Bild".
"My plan was not to decide between Germany and Serbia until after this year's European Championship," Pavlovic told the German tabloid, "I had to make this decision immediately.It is not to be understood as being against the Serbian national team, but for the German team. I would like to expressly thank the Serbian association for making efforts on my behalf."
"Both hearts beat in my chest," Pavlovic continued, "My mother is German and my father is Serbian. I was born and raised in Munich, have spent my entire footballing career at FC Bayern and am looking forward to the upcoming international matches with Germany."
Jan-Niklas Beste
The 25-year-old was a guest on the German public television program "ZDF Sportstudio" when German footballing legend Bastian Schweinsteiger first floated the idea of his inclusion on the national team. FC Heidenheim's "assist-meister" has taken special care to remain humble when it comes to the talk of him representing his country. Beste again had to express surprise at his inclusion, even if the amazing set-piece prowess that has enabled him to score seven league goals and pocket 10 assists this season certainly merited a look from Nagelsmann.
"I've said time and again recently that I didn't expect this nomination," Beste confided when reached for comment by Germany's Kicker Magazine, "After all, it's not even a year ago that I was still playing in the second division with FCH. Naturally, this fulfills something that almost every little boy in Germany probably dreams of. That's how it is for me too."