World Cup coach hopes gay soccer players ‘summon the courage’ to come out
Julian Nagelsmann will take coach Germany at the FIFA World Cup. He’s spoken about gay St Pauli coach Christian Dobrick coming out. The post World Cup coach hopes gay soccer players ‘summon the courage’ to come out appeared first on Outsports.
Mark
Julian Nagelsmann will be one of the youngest head coaches at this summer’s FIFA World Cup, and he wants men’s soccer to get with the times.
The 38-year-old will attempt to lead Germany to a fifth title in their history, at a tournament where it is almost certain there will be no out gay or bi men on the pitch or in the dugout.
That lack of representation has become a national talking point once again following the decision last week of St Pauli coach Christian Dobrick to speak in media interviews for the first time about being gay.
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Gay pro soccer coach comes out, backed by his club
Pro soccer coach Christian Dobrick comes out as gay, is now the first coach at a German Bundesliga club to come out publicly.
It made Dobrick, who manages the Hamburg club’s Under-19 team, the first-ever member of coaching staff at a Bundesliga men’s club to come out publicly.
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Whether at pro or semi-pro level, the number of male footballers who have said they are not straight is tiny, considering the global popularity of the sport.
Outsports has a list of just 29 players, past and present, most of whom came out after hanging up their boots. Considering FIFA estimates around 130,000 men are actively playing at some professional level around the world every year, it’s a drop in the ocean.
But in coaching, you’d struggle to point to any gay or bi men ever known to have worked in the upper echelons of the game. Even more than most, Dobrick is a standout.
Nagelsmann, who guided Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga title in 2022, says the 29-year-old from St Pauli deserves all the plaudits coming his way.
“I think it’s very good that he took this step,” said the Germany boss, speaking between friendly victories for his team over Switzerland and Ghana.
Living in a country that regularly features on lists of those that are the most LGBTQ-friendly, and being a member of the Millennials generation, Nagelsmann says he finds it easy to empathize with Dobrick.
“I have gay friends myself and know what it’s like to feel for a long time that you can’t talk about it. What torment it is not to be able to live it out.
“Through conversations with friends, I also know how liberating it is when you’ve spoken about it.”
While he concedes it’s a “shame” to still be talking about the struggle of gay and bi men to come out in professional soccer, it’s not a question that Nagelsmann would shy away from.
He tackled the topic three years ago when he described Jakub Jankto as “impressive” for going public about his sexuality. At the time, the Czech player was still in the international picture for his country, although he was never capped again.
Only two FIFA World Cup men’s players have come out as gay
There has never been an active footballer at a FIFA Men’s World Cup who has featured in the tournament while out as gay or bi. Only two players — Olivier Rouyer (Argentina ’78) and Thomas Hitzlsperger — have made World Cup appearances and then later come out, having retired from the game.
The German football federation, the DFB, has made efforts in recent years to instil a more inclusive culture in the men’s game. However, their more progressive approach has not been universally welcomed, such as during the Qatar 2022 World Cup when players took a visible stand for human rights and freedom of expression through an on-pitch pre-game gesture.
Since then, amid pressure from the media and the public to focus on results, the DFB has been more cautious. However, Nagelsman says he’s frustrated by the fact “it’s still taking time” for men’s football to catch up with society on LGBTQ inclusion.
“I don’t think that’s right,” he said, adding he welcomes the development “that there are courageous people who are making it public.
“I hope that many others will now summon the courage and that one day we won’t have to discuss it anymore.”
Reading some of the media reactions to Nagelsmann’s comments, some took exception to his closing remarks.
An editorial in feverpitch.de said: “This hope is directed at the wrong people. It’s not those directly affected who need to be braver. The locker rooms need to be safer, the stands quieter when it comes to insults, and the governing bodies more decisive in their consequences.”
It’s natural, of course, to want to alleviate pressure on those most affected, the closeted coaches and deeply private players amongst whom Dobrick’s story will have resonated the most.
Equally, all those environments and attitudes can certainly improve, to make it easier for the next person who wants to emulate Dobrick and liberate themselves from the expectations of others.
Yet coming out will always remain an act of courage, not least in men’s team sports. The act counters soccer conventions, introduces an element of personal risk, and sets you apart in the global game.
“In professional football, gay men are still treated like aliens,” said Dobrick. In a World Cup year, it helps to have an empathetic national-team coach like Nagelsmann, someone who speaks our language and looks forward to a more “liberating” future.
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The post World Cup coach hopes gay soccer players ‘summon the courage’ to come out appeared first on Outsports.
