It is a strange time we live in. A time when all sorts of people feel entitled to comment on someone or something. Whatever it may be — physical appearance, the way someone dresses, their favorite food or, in the most extreme cases, the color of their skin.This last issue was met with disgust by Jurgen Klopp at a press conference ahead of the Nations League clash with Serbia. Following the match against Greece, racist and offensive comments targeting the dark-skinned players in the ranks of the “Panzer” side appeared on social media.The worst start among all German managersSpecifically, there are 14 of them in this squad: Noah Atubolu, injured Jamal Musiala, as well as Jan Orel Bisek, Jonathan Tah, Josha Vagnoman, Nathaniel Brown, Ridle Baku, Malick Thiaw, Felix Nmecha, Kevin Schade, Serge Gnabry, Karim Adeyemi, Boubacar Conte and Derry Scherhant.Asked about posts claiming that the team was “not German enough” or “not white enough”, the manager initially said that he had “not even noticed” them. However, he immediately followed that up with a sharp and direct response, firmly defending the dark-skinned players in the German national team.“I haven't seen that. In my opinion, there's absolutely no reason to give any thoughts about these people. I have little time for stupidity in real life, and not on social media either. The big problem in our lives is that everyone can express their opinion on social networks. People spout nonsense, it's madness. Our group couldn't be more united. The world could learn a thing or two from a sports dressing room"Klopp asked about the racist posts about the national team on social media in the past few days (the team is not 'German enough' and not 'white enough'): "I haven't seen that. In my opinion, there's absolutely no reason to give any thoughts about these people. I have little time… pic.twitter.com/CKpmchiRLF— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) September 30, 2026 Dark-skinned players are certainly nothing new to German football. The first to appear in the shirt of what was then West Germany was Erwin Kostedde. Born in Münster to a German mother and an American serviceman father, he made his debut in December 1974 and went on to make two more appearances for the national team.In more recent times, the “Panzer” shirt has been worn by Gerald Asamoah (who played at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups), as well as David Odonkor (at the 2006 World Cup), along with Jerome Boateng, Antonio Rudiger and Leroy Sane. Some of them were long-serving internationals, while others became world champions. Their skin color was never an issue for anyone back then.UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE – DIVISION AThursday21.45: (3.40) Denmark (3.50) Portugal (2.10)21.45: (1.25) Germany (6.00) Serbia (12.5)21.45: (3.30) Greece (3.50) Netherlands (2.15)21.45: (6.75) Wales (4.90) Norway (1.42)Friday21.45: (1.53) Belgium (4.30) Turkey (6.00)21.45: (1.45) France (4.50) Italy (7.00)Saturday19.00: (4.10) Croatia (3.50) England (1.90)21.45: (1.07) Spain (13.0) Czech R. (25.0)***odds are subject to change***
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