Jürgen Klopp has been appointed as the new manager of Germany, returning to coaching two years after ending his successful spell with Liverpool.
The 59-year-old has signed a four-year contract that will take him through Euro 2028 and the 2030 World Cup. He will formally begin work on 15 August, replacing Julian Nagelsmann following Germany’s disappointing exit from the 2026 World Cup.
Klopp had been working as Red Bull’s head of global soccer since January 2025. However, an agreement between Red Bull and the German Football Association has cleared the way for him to concentrate fully on attempting to revive the four-time world champions.
Germany Turn to Their First-Choice Candidate
Klopp’s appointment follows another underwhelming World Cup campaign for Germany. They progressed from their group but were eliminated by Paraguay on penalties in the round of 32, after which Nagelsmann asked to be released from his contract.
It was the country’s third successive disappointing World Cup. Germany went out during the group stage in both 2018 and 2022, meaning they have not reached the quarter-finals since winning the competition in Brazil in 2014.
According to the DFB’s announcement, Klopp’s appointment was approved unanimously after being proposed by president Bernd Neuendorf and vice-president Hans-Joachim Watzke. Neuendorf described the former Liverpool manager as the organisation’s “unrestricted preferred solution” for the vacancy.
That enthusiasm is understandable. Klopp won two Bundesliga titles and the German Cup with Borussia Dortmund before moving to Liverpool in 2015. During nine years at Anfield, he won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup, while also restoring Liverpool as regular contenders for the biggest trophies.
Before the appointment was confirmed, Oddschecker made Klopp the 2/5 favourite to become Germany’s next manager, ahead of Pep Guardiola at 5/1 and Sebastian Hoeness at 6/1.
The national-team job will present a very different challenge. Klopp will have significantly less time on the training pitch than he enjoyed at club level, making it more difficult to introduce the intense pressing and carefully coordinated football associated with his most successful teams.
A Familiar Coaching Team and an Early Warning
Klopp will at least be surrounded by several familiar faces when he begins work. Peter Krawietz and Pepijn Lijnders, who were both important members of his Liverpool coaching staff, will join him as assistant managers.
Former Borussia Dortmund midfielder Sven Bender has also been added to the coaching team. Bender played under Klopp in Dortmund and later worked within Germany’s youth setup before moving into senior coaching.
The arrangement with Red Bull allows Klopp to leave his executive position before the end of his contract. As part of the agreement, the DFB will pay €1 million to Red Bull’s Wings for Life foundation, which funds spinal-cord research, and stage three Germany internationals in Leipzig before the end of 2030.
Klopp described becoming Germany manager as the highlight of his career, but his introductory press conference was not entirely celebratory. He delivered a firm warning over the treatment of his family and said he would be prepared to leave if their privacy was not respected.
“If you behave badly and don’t leave my family in peace, then I’ll be gone,” Klopp told reporters.
His remarks came after he criticised the way previous Germany coaches, including Nagelsmann and Thomas Tuchel, had been treated. Klopp’s relationship with the media was occasionally strained during his time at Liverpool, particularly during difficult periods, and the scrutiny surrounding the German national team is unlikely to be any less intense.
What Klopp Must Fix
Klopp inherits a German side that has struggled to turn talented groups of players into convincing tournament performances. The immediate task will be to restore confidence, develop a clear identity and rebuild the connection between the national team and its supporters.
That ability to unite players and fans was one of Klopp’s greatest strengths at Dortmund and Liverpool. His emotional touchline presence and attacking football made him hugely popular, but Germany will ultimately judge his tenure on results at major tournaments.
There will not be a gentle introduction. Klopp’s first international window contains four matches, beginning away to the Netherlands on 24 September. His first home game will follow against Greece in Augsburg three days later, before Germany face Serbia in Munich and then travel to Thessaloniki for another meeting with Greece.
Those fixtures will provide an early indication of how quickly Klopp can transfer his ideas to international football. They will also give him an opportunity to assess which established players remain central to his plans and which younger members of the squad are ready for greater responsibility.
Euro 2028 represents the first major target, but the length of Klopp’s contract shows that the DFB is looking beyond a short-term response to the World Cup disappointment. The ultimate objective is to have Germany competing seriously for the trophy again in 2030.
Klopp has rebuilt major clubs before, but restoring Germany’s position among international football’s leading nations may be one of the most demanding assignments of his career.
