Jurgen Klopp watched from the pundit's chair as Germany tumbled out of the World Cup in a penalty shootout defeat to Paraguay. The loss sent Julian Nagelsmann to resignation and plunged German football into a full-scale identity crisis. Three weeks later, Klopp has signed a four-year deal to become head coach, tasked with restoring his country's once-famous winning mentality.
His first game will be against the Netherlands on 24 September. The 59-year-old, who won the Champions League and Premier League with Liverpool and two Bundesliga titles with Borussia Dortmund, is already considered one of Germany's greatest managers. But the appointment has sparked fierce debate.
“Jurgen Klopp signs four-year deal as Germany head coach after Julian Nagelsmann resigns following World Cup exit.”
DFB president Bernd Neuendorf said Klopp "embodies passion, credibility, and the ability to inspire people" and that after Nagelsmann's resignation he was the "unequivocal choice". "That's why we pursued him relentlessly," Neuendorf added.
Klopp will build his coaching team around former Liverpool assistants Pep Lijnders and Peter Krawietz, hoping to replicate their success at Anfield. "The national team can unite us Germans like almost nothing else. That's precisely what makes this task so special for me," Klopp said.
A recent poll by German football magazine Kicker found 80% of readers backed the appointment. Former Germany midfielder Stefan Effenberg said on the Doppelpass talk show that Klopp could bring a "new spirit of optimism". The criticisms that have dogged the national team – a lack of winning mentality and a failure to bond with fans – are precisely the problems Klopp has spent his career solving.
Yet doubts remain. For some, the risks of international management at a time when German football has lost its way are immense. Whether Klopp can be the messiah his country needs, or merely paper over the cracks, is a question only the next four years can answer.