The international break granted Mika Baur a little piece of history that no one will ever be able to take away from him.Called up by Jurgen Klopp, the Celtic midfielder became the 1000th player to represent the German national team at senior level.As if coming on against Serbia and Greece wasn’t enough, Baur left his first camp with words of praise from his country’s new manager ringing in his ears.Singling out the former Paderborn man as a ‘wonderful player’, Klopp claimed his ability reminded him of multiple Champions League winners. Not a bad first impression to make.Baur, naturally, will take any compliment that’s going — especially from one of the greatest managers of the modern era. But he knows that the hard work has only just begun.’It feels great to hear some words of a big manager, especially words like that,’ he said. ‘But, it’s on me to show that it’s true.’ Celtic midfielder Mika Baur became the 1000th player to represent the German national teamKlopp’s parting gift put the tin lid on a phenomenal experience which evidently meant everything to the playmaker.Stepping onto the field for the first time in Munich’s Allianz Arena for his debut in the win over the Serbs was the kind of moment he’d always dreamed of.’I cannot explain it,’ he smiled. ‘I said it in Germany before, it’s a feeling you have that you don’t want to go away.’It’s a big honour, a proud moment. Maybe, at the first moment I was not expecting to come on, but when I came on it was just unbelievable.’I just heard it after the match [about being the 1000th German international], so it’s a nice side fact, but it was nothing that I knew when I came in or something.’I’m proud of it, but it’s just a side fact.’One of the new faces in the two squads the former Liverpool manager selected for the quadruple-header, Baur’s return home felt like a defining moment in his career journey.’The whole eight days were a great experience,’ he reflected. ‘High quality in training, a lot of great players playing in top leagues with top clubs.’So, yeah, there were a lot of things I learned.’There were a lot of new players as well in the squad and he [Klopp] is very, very good at catching people to make them feel welcome and comfortable. Baur was full of praise for boss Jurgen Klopp and believes he can take Germany back to the top’I mean, it was just eight days, but it felt different. We knew exactly what he wants.’He showed us in every training session — a lot of intensity, pressing, counter-pressing.’So, everyone knew what he had to do and that helped a lot. He just made us feel very comfortable and feel welcome in the squad. It was a nice experience.’The German public expects better than the national team has delivered in recent years.A last 32 exit at the hands of Paraguay in this year’s World Cup came on the back of successive group stage exits.For Baur and the rest of the new wave of talents, there’s an expectation that they’ll bring back the glory days which are represented by the four stars above their badge.’I think in Germany at the moment, it’s a process — new coaching staff, new ideas,’ said the Celtic man.’We had the two squads and the squads were mixed, so you had a few experienced players, a few young players.’So every German player saw that he maybe has a chance to get in there if he commits to the plan the coaching staff wants. You could see during the matches it was a process and you can see development during the weeks as well.’