Berlin, July 25:
Germany has hired Jürgen Klopp to coach its national team, giving the ex-Liverpool manager a daunting task to turn around the fortunes of a squad which failed yet again at the World Cup.
Klopp signed a contract to coach Germany through to the 2030 World Cup, the German soccer federation said as he was presented at a news conference Friday.
“The national team brings us Germans together like almost nothing else can. That’s what makes this task so special for me,” Klopp said.
He replaces Julian Nagelsmann, who quit after Germany’s loss to Paraguay meant it failed to reach the last 16 of a men’s World Cup for the third time in a row.
It is Klopp’s first coaching job since he left Liverpool in 2024 citing fatigue. He said he was “recharged” in comments while in talks over the Germany job.
The man known for thrilling “heavy metal football” at Liverpool, Klopp was Germany’s preferred candidate as soon as Nagelsmann quit.
Over weeks of talks, the 59-year-old German — 20 years older than Nagelsmann — stayed in the United States as a World Cup pundit for a German-language broadcaster.
The federation also held talks with the Red Bull group, where Klopp spent the last year and a half as “head of global soccer” advising its worldwide group of soccer clubs.
Klopp faces a tough introduction to his first national team job with four Nations League games in 11 days against the Netherlands, Greece and Serbia in late September and early October.