The German was appointed by the DFB after another World Cup disappointment, looking to get the national team back to their best


Getty Images

Germany have unveiled Jurgen Klopp as the new head coach of the national team, following the departure of Julian Nagelsmann after the disappointment of the 2026 World Cup, when Germany were knocked out by Paraguay in the round of 32. Klopp, who left Liverpool ahead of the summer 2024 and since worked as RedBull's head of soccer, started a new chapter of his incredible career and will be leading the German national team at the 2028 UEFA Euro and at the 2030 World Cup and seems willing to be on the job for even longer.

"The day you don't want me anymore, I'm gone, without any severance pay. If you say tomorrow that he's rubbish, I'm gone. Not just one person, it would have to be more than that. If the federation says he's rubbish, I'm gone. If you behave badly and don't leave my family in peace, I'm gone. Criticize me if something doesn't work. I'm happy to work on it. It's all about the job. Klopp doesn't have a career after the national team. Ideally, this is the highlight of my career," he said.

Klopp also said he's ready to make changes in the national team and also on German soccer.

"I want to get very involved in the structures. Whoever brings in Jurgen, gets Jurgen. Everyone is happy today, but I'm not sure if that will be the case every day. I want to improve everything. I want to present the German national team in a positive light, so that we can eventually get back to the top. I'm looking forward to the challenge," he said.

He also spoke on the players and how he wants to make an impact on some of them, looking to find stability and then, they hope, dominance on the global stage. Since winning the 2014 World Cup, the Germans crashed out in the group stages of 2018 and 2022 before the shock defeat to Paraguay in the round of 32 this past summer.

"Players will get opportunities they might not even be expecting right now, because I like to be bold. I'm keen to work with guys who want to play a style of football that everyone enjoys. It's not always immediately successful, but I also want to achieve something with the national team that makes people go home and think, 'Wow, that was really cool.' A few things are needed to achieve that. Everyone who is eligible to play for the national team should give their all. I'll be watching. Nobody is being written off today. It's a fresh start," he said.

"Success is how you perform in relation to the expectations. When we ask in Germany: are we as good as France? And the answer is no, that's not true. The question should be: do we have players like Dembele, Mbappe, Doue, Barcola? The answer is no. But we still can beat them. It's not important to look at France, Spain, Argentina. The most important thing is to look at ourselves and how we play football. We aren't number one in the world at the moment, that's true. There are 11 nations ahead of us in the ranking -- but we have to make beating them possible, with the way we play football.

"Luckily, the first game isn't tomorrow. I'd be overwhelmed. I'll be watching games in every country where our players are, including here in Germany, of course. I've gained a tremendous amount of insight lately. Maintaining contact with the players is very important, and I'll try to get in touch with them early on. That will be my first task."

DFB President Bernd Neuendorf also confirmed that the staff will consist of Peter Krawietz, Pepijn Lijnders and Sven Bender and it's also confirmed that Per Mertesacker will replace Andreas Rettig as DFB managing director at the end of the year.

Source