Jurgen Klopp has been appointed as the new head coach of Germany.
Klopp has signed a four-year contract that will take him through to the 2030 World Cup having received the unanimous backing of the German Football Association supervisory board.
It sees the former Liverpool boss return to the dugout for the first time since he left Anfield at the end of the 2023/24 season. Since then the 59-year-old has worked as Red Bull’s global head of football.
At his presentation in Frankfurt, he said: “It is a great honour to sit here today. What has happened to me in the last few days is like a movie that goes through your head. Where did it all start, where did you come from? I already had an idea of how big the role of the national coach is but when you are associated with it, you feel the greatness and responsibility even more.”
The DFB also confirmed the appointments of Peter Krawietz, Pep Lijnders and Sven Bender as Klopp’s assistants while former Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker will take on the role of DFB managing director for sport from the start of 2027.
Table of Contents
If you go after my family, I am gone – Klopp warns German media
While the atmosphere at the news conference was jovial, Klopp also had a word of warning for the assembled media.
“I’m not doing this job for myself, I’m doing it for you,” he said. “I’m taking this job even though I’ve seen how you’ve treated Julian Nagelsmann. I’m taking it even though I’ve seen how you’ve treated Thomas Tuchel.
“If you go after my family, I’m gone. If you think I’m rubbish, tell me to my face and I’ll leave immediately, without asking for any compensation.
“Jurgen Klopp has no career after the national team. This is ideally the highlight of my career.”
Jurgen Klopp’s first four games as Germany boss
Sep 24: Netherlands (A)
Sep 27: Greece (H)
October 1: Serbia (H)
October 4: Greece (A)
Klopp tries to limit expectations
Klopp attended the 2026 World Cup as a pundit and watched as Nagelsmann’s Germany crashed out at the round of 32 stage, losing on penalties to Paraguay.
And he has warned against expecting too much, too soon.
“The expectations in Germany are madness. Imagine if Nagelsmann had said ‘we want to get to the semi-finals?’ What would have people said?” he added.
“Of course, we want to achieve the highest goals. We should realise that we need time for this.
“We need a realistic expectation. Players will get opportunities that do not yet expect it. Because I like to be brave. I always have been and I will remain so. I want to work with players who play a football that everyone likes. This is not always successful immediately, but I want to get people to go home after the game and say, ‘wow!’
“Counterpressing will be an important topic, a stable formation, a clear football idea. The teams that could win the World Cup played with four men at the back. We will do the same. We will also play with wingers. The playmakers of today’s generation are on the wing.
You Should Also Read
