By Peter Weis@PeterVicey

Marco Rose on Löw critics: "I'll take up cudgels for our national team coach!"

Borussia Mönchengladbach trainer Marco Rose was all smiles at a Thursday club presser. Three of his key players--Matthias Ginter, Florian Neuhaus, and Matthias Ginter--had just returned healthy from the international break. The performance of all three for Joachim Löw's national team were also of high quality.

In a strikingly chipper mood, the man many consider the the Bundesliga's best rotative tactician couldn't help weighing in on the critiques Löw currently faces.

Rose stands beside Löw amid all the talk.
Marco Rose.
Marco Rose.Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Marco Rose didn't merely offer his support for Germany's Bundestrainer on Thursday. He proudly proclaimed that he would "take up cudgels for our national team coach". The German idiomatic expression used, which in a more Americanized parlance might translate to "go to bat for" or "ride shotgun for", conveyed absolute support.

"He's doing precisely the right things," Rose said, "Many people will talk about how the team has to get into gear and that there's no time to experiment. It's important that the boys are fit for the European championship next summer. Until then, the most important thing is that they remain healthy."

"That's why I think its precisely the right thing what the national team coach is doing right now," Rose continued, "Namely, [he's] rotating a lot."

Rose cited the case of Joshua Kimmich, who's duties with Bayern and the Nationalmannschaft may push him towards as many as 80 games in a single calendar year. The Gladbach trainer noted that he remains in close contact with Löw and that all of the stressors of the COVID-Era necessitate that "we pay close attention to our players."

Neuhaus and Hofmann both earned their first national team call ups in this break. Neuhaus returns having scored in his debut match, the 3-3 draw friendly draw against Turkey last Wednesday. Ginter scored the opening goal in the 2-1 victory over the Ukraine on Saturday.

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