Germany appoint Klopp as head coach after World Cup disappointment

Germany have appointed Juergen Klopp as head coach on a four-year contract, the country’s football association (DFB) said on Friday, handing the former Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund manager the task of leading the national team into a new era after another disappointing World Cup campaign.

Klopp replaces Julian Nagelsmann, who left the role after Germany’s penalty shootout defeat by Paraguay in the round of 32, a result that extended the country’s run of poor World Cup performances following group-stage exits in 2018 and 2022.

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"The national team can connect us Germans like hardly anything else. That's exactly what makes this task so special for me," Klopp, who had been working as Red Bull's global head of soccer, said in a statement.

"I am grateful for everything I have experienced and learned in the last year and a half at Red Bull and for the openness that has made this agreement possible in the first place.

"Now I am looking forward to this special task in German football, which we will tackle together with humility and patience: to develop a team that fights for each other, that enjoys football and behind which the people of our country can rally with full conviction."

Klopp will be assisted by Peter Krawietz, Pep Lijnders and former Germany international Sven Bender.

The DFB also appointed former Germany defender Per Mertesacker, a member of the country's 2014 World Cup-winning side, as managing director for sport. He succeeds Andreas Rettig and has signed a contract through to the 2030 World Cup.

DFB president Bernd Neuendorf said Klopp had been the federation’s preferred candidate from the outset.

"We've had very intense discussions. He (Klopp) was our ideal solution from the start," Neuendorf said.

"We at the DFB were unanimous in saying he was the candidate we had to talk to. Our talks with Juergen only strengthened our belief that he's the right man at the right time."

Red Bull executive Oliver Mintzlaff said the company had agreed to release Klopp to allow him to take the Germany job.

"This wasn't an easy decision but together with my fellow managing directors, Franz Watzlawick and Alexander Kirchmayr, we decided to support his ambition," Mintzlaff said.

Neuendorf said the federation would donate €1 million ($1.14 million) to Red Bull's Wings for Life foundation instead of paying compensation. He confirmed Leipzig would host three Germany internationals in the coming years.

REBUILDING GERMANY

Germany’s latest early exit marked a third successive disappointing World Cup for a team that last lifted the trophy in 2014.

Klopp takes the job less than two years after joining Red Bull.He worked as a television pundit for German broadcasters during the World Cup and was widely viewed as the preferred choice among Germany fans.

However, he drew criticism during the tournament and later apologised after suggesting Nagelsmann’s time as national coach could be nearing an end.

One of Germany's most successful club coaches, Klopp won Bundesliga and German Cup titles with Borussia Dortmund before taking charge of Liverpool in 2015.

During nine years at Anfield, he led the club to almost every major honour, including the Champions League and Premier League titles.

"This (Germany) role is the highlight of my career and I'll give all I've got to be successful," Klopp told reporters on Friday.

"I'm far from perfect. We've got a few weeks until the first international break. I think that's enough time to get prepared.

"I want to look towards the most successful Germany coaches who also developed in the most successful way."

The DFB said earlier this month that Nagelsmann had asked to be released from his contract following Germany’s World Cup exit.

Nagelsmann, who took charge in 2023 and became the youngest coach to lead a team in a World Cup knockout match in four decades at 38 years old, had said after the defeat that he was “not someone to say ‘I’m stepping down’ just because we were eliminated.”

Klopp is known for his direct communication style, in contrast to Nagelsmann, whose approach was at times perceived as abrasive.