Oh Jürgen! Klopp's Germany crash to historic Greece defeat as Nations League's fab four find mixed fortunes
It is barely two games into the new Nations League campaign, yet the glitzy quartet of trophy-hoarding aristocrats who took charge of four of Europe's heavyweight national teams are already being handed a sobering introduction to life in the international lane.
This time last week, attention was focused on the continental renaissance sparked by the arrival of Jürgen Klopp, Zinedine Zidane and Xavi Hernández on the international management scene, alongside the return of Roberto Mancini to the Italy hotseat three years after he abruptly walked away to take a lucrative contract in Saudi Arabia. Two matches in, it is time to appraise their early efforts — and for one of them, the start has been distinctly chastening.
Oh Jürgen! Klopp's Germany humbled by Greece
Having begun his reign as Germany head coach by warning the national press not to intrude on his family's privacy, Klopp has instead had to contend with their coverage of him naming a 44-man squad in order to speed up "the process of opening the door for many new faces" as part of his plan to overhaul the German side.
"There's still plenty of room for improvement," he said after his side drew his first match in charge against Xavi's Netherlands, before failing to show any in a historic first-ever defeat by Greece.
"The lineup, the formation, the many changes – that is all 100% down to me," Klopp admitted. "Football, that's how it is. I don't think we deserved that, but here we are."
Germany now sit third in their Nations League group and already face a must(ish)-win match against Serbia to avoid possible relegation.
Xavi off the mark as the Netherlands edge Serbia
Xavi, meanwhile, chalked up his first Netherlands win in Belgrade against Serbia. The former Barcelona midfielder had a late callup, Mexx Meerdink, to thank at the final whistle after the AZ striker scored both goals in a 2-1 win.
Next up is Thursday's match against the group-leading Greeks. Responding to suggestions that there were many moments when the Dutch needed to attack the spaces but did not do it, a contrite Xavi confessed: "There were many moments when we needed to attack the spaces, but we didn't do it."
Mancini's Italy back on track — and a slice of history for Kayode
In danger of losing their status as global dark horses to Greece, Turkey rolled over to give Mancini the first win of his second spell in charge of Italy, who had lost to Belgium the previous week.
After being reappointed, the Italian apologised for doing the dirty on the Azzurri first time around in order to take up a lucrative contract with Saudi Arabia. He has since had to face down questions about another of his former nation-state paymasters, describing the current scandal surrounding his former club Manchester City as "not a problem that concerns me" after referring to claims he had a "double contract" during his time there.
On a night when Michael Kayode marked the occasion of becoming the first Brentford player in history to represent Italy by scoring a goal, Mancini said the 22-year-old "will improve even more after another year in the Premier League". Given his lack of popularity among many Italy fans, whether he will still be around to see Kayode blossom remains to be seen. Italy's next appointment is in Paris on Friday against France.
Zizou's perfect start for France
Zidane is the only one of the four to get off to a perfect start. After back-to-back 1-0 wins in Turkey and Belgium, the latter sealed by a sensational late Michael Olise solo effort, the France manager was asked about his meme-worthy touchline celebration that involved a sprint, a little dance and leathering a spare ball off a cone.
"I saw the ball," he giggled. "I was forced to shoot it, be a bit ridiculous but it doesn't matter."
Never mind the tactical revolutions of Klopp, Xavi and Mancini — when the chips are down, just go full Zizou and get it launched.