Jürgen Klopp was officially presented as new Germany national team manager on Friday in Frankfurt by the DFB and the former Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund and Mainz manager signed a four-year deal that keeps him in the hot seat through the 2030 World Cup in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain. He replaces Julian Nagelsmann after yet another disappointing performance at a World Cup — a theme that’s been all too familiar for Die Mannschaft dating back to the 2018 tournament in Russia. After Joachim Löw finally
stepped down after EURO 2020, Hansi Flick gave it his best before Nagelsmann took the helm, but neither of them could guide Germany back to the promise land and it’s now up to Klopp to steer them in that direction as best he can — which his reputation suggests he’s more than capable of doing.
Klopp’s name has been in the mix for the national team job for a very long time. For a slew of different reasons at different times, it was never the right time for him until now. He has the energy, the charisma, all of the right relationships already with everyone at the DFB, and the immense familiarity with the German leagues, but will all of that be enough to forumlate the right equation to get Germany back to the top?
Lothar Matthäus, while very much excited at Klopp’s appointment as new Germany manager, knows that he’ll have his work cut out for him, regardless of the massive managerial pedigree he already has.
As far as personnel decisions are concerned, it’s already been suggested that their are some new names and faces Klopp would like to give chances to in the national team, which is always much easier said than done.“In the past, one or the other talent may have been left behind because the last national coach sometimes relied on other players who didn’t perform as well anymore, but who had a certain standing with him. Of course, Klopp can’t invent new players, but he will look around so that he and his coaching team have everyone in view. Then he will try to form a team that will lead us back to where we expect them to be,” Matthäus stressed to Sky Sport (via Bild).
Klopp’s reputation and overall standing in Germany will certainly lend itself to at least some leniency in the eyes of the DFB, but as Matthäus has stated, even that only goes to a certain length. It’s a results business and that’s the benchmark by which he’s going to be evaluated in his job performance. “Now it depends on how it is implemented. Despite his charisma, his personality and his successes, he is also measured by results. Klopp is 20 years older than Julian Nagelsmann and he has correspondingly more experience. Communication is Jürgen’s great strength, he should do one or two things better than his predecessor in dealing with the players. But even he is only allowed to play with eleven men who have a German passport,” Matthäus pointed out.
For Klopp, the first task will come in the form of UEFA Nations League matches against the Netherlands, Greece and Serbia in the fall, and he has plenty of time to prep for that. European club seasons will be well underway by that point, so he’ll have time to make his decisions on personnel in advance of having to submit his roster for those camps and matches.
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