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Jurgen Klopp has been named Germany coach, the former Liverpool manager given the task of rebuilding the struggling European giants, the national federation (DFB) announced on Friday.Klopp's appointment was widely expected for weeks and his contract will see him through to the 2030 World Cup co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, as well as the three centenary matches planned for that year in South America.The 59-year-old spoke publicly of his desire to take on the role after predecessor Julian Nagelsmann's resignation earlier in July.Nagelsmann fell on his sword after a disappointing last-32 defeat at the hands of Paraguay, Germany's third consecutive early World Cup exit since winning the tournament in 2014.As the German FA's preferred candidate, Klopp's willingness to take the job accelerated Nagelsmann's departure."It's a great honour for me to be sitting here today," Klopp told a press conference called by the DFB to announce his appointment in Frankfurt."This is ideally the high point of my career, of my life, my professional life. I will give it everything I have," he said.However he warned the assembled reporters that "if you tomorrow you start saying: 'He's crap', then I'm off".DFB President Bernd Neuendorf said Klopp's contract would start on August 15 and run until summer 2030.Since 2025, Klopp has been under contract until 2029 with Austrian energy drink maker Red Bull as "Head of Global Soccer", where he oversaw the football clubs affiliated with the company such as RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg and the New York Red Bulls.Neuendorf thanked Red Bull for their willingness to end the contract early as Klopp would need his "full concentration" for the new job.The DFB did not have to pay a fee but will instead make a donation of a million euros ($1.1m) to Red Bull's Wings for Life charity foundation, which supports research into spinal cord injuries. World Cup failureHaving repeatedly said his time in the dugout was over, Klopp returns with the mammoth task of returning the struggling Germans to the top of the international game.Germany have won four World Cups - the equal most of any European team - and three European Championships, one behind record holders Spain, but have struggled in recent years.The team crashed out of this summer's World Cup after losing to Paraguay on penalties in the round of 32.It was the third successive World Cup failure for the Germans since winning their fourth title in 2014.In a decade since making the semi-finals of Euro 2016, Germany have won just one knockout match across three World Cups and two Euros.Having also tasted success as manager of Mainz and Borussia Dortmund, Klopp stepped down as Liverpool coach in 2024 after a wildly successful spell, winning all available trophies.Under Klopp, Liverpool won the Premier League to break a 30-year drought and lifted the Champions League trophy for the sixth time.The DFB had long courted Klopp and believed he was the perfect candidate to take over from Nagelsmann.Klopp will work alongside Rudi Voeller, the 1990 World Cup winning striker has been the team's sporting director since autumn 2023 and whose contract runs for another two years.The challenges facing Klopp and his staff are numerous.The new coach will look to build the team round the young talent of Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala, both 23.Joshua Kimmich has worn the captain's armband since autumn 2024, but will be 33 by the time of Euro 2028.In goal, Manuel Neuer came out of international retirement for one last stint at the World Cup at the age of 40.Klopp's hotly anticipated first squad will come in mid-September for four Nations League matches, the first being against the Netherlands on September 24. 

Jurgen Klopp is widely expected to formally take over as the new head coach of the German men's national football team, with the German Football Association (DFB) calling a press conference for Friday.Klopp, famed for his success during stints as coach at Borussia Dortmund and especially Liverpool, has been in talks with the DFB about trying to lead Germany - long a football powerhouse - back to prominence.On Thursday, the DFB invited the media to a press conference on Friday morning at 11am (0900GMT) at its Frankfurt headquarters, without specifying the topic.That is because the DFB's governing bodies have not yet met to formally approve the deal with Klopp, according to reports from AFP's sports subsidiary SID.Klopp, 59, is among the most decorated football coaches of his generation and is expected to sign a contract with Germany that runs until 2030, the date of the next World Cup.Since 2025, Klopp has been under contract with Austrian energy drink maker Red Bull as "Head of Global Soccer", where he oversees the football clubs affiliated with the company such as RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg and the New York Red Bulls.According to German media reports Red Bull will release Klopp from his deal without a transfer fee, instead accepting a million-euro ($1.1mn) donation to Red Bull's Wings for Life charity foundation, which supports research into spinal cord injuries.The DFB dismissed former head coach Julian Nagelsmann after Germany crashed out of this summer's World Cup in disappointing fashion, losing to Paraguay on penalties in the round of 32.That means the German men's team has suffered three straight World Cup debacles since winning their fourth title in 2014.Germany made first-round exits in both 2018 and 2022. They have won just one knockout match at the past five major tournaments, reaching the quarter-finals as hosts at Euro 2024.Klopp had successful coaching tenures at German clubs Mainz - where he was a player for more than a decade - and Dortmund.He then became a legend at Liverpool, where he coached the English side to a league title in 2020 - ending a 30-year drought. He also led the club to a Champions League triumph, their sixth European crown.Citing fatigue, Klopp stepped down from the Liverpool job in 2024. 

The German Football Federation (DFB) announced on Saturday that it was close to an agreement with Jurgen Klopp for him to become the new Germany coach.However, before the 59-year-old makes his return to the touchline, the DFB said it still needed to secure the approval of his current employer, the Red Bull Group."DFB president Bernd Neuendorf and vice-president Hans-Joachim Watzke held an initial in-depth discussion with Jurgen Klopp in New York on Friday regarding his potential appointment as national team coach," the DFB stated in a press release."During this constructive discussion, an understanding was reached on the key points of a potential contract."Discussions will continue next week. Both parties are confident that the negotiations - subject to an agreement with Klopp's current employer, Red Bull - can ultimately be brought to a successful conclusion," the statement continued.Klopp has been the DFB's preferred candidate to succeed Julian Nagelsmann, who resigned following Germany's round-of-32 World Cup exit after losing on penalties to Paraguay.The German is widely considered one of the finest coaches in the game after glittering spells at Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool.Klopp stepped away from management after leaving Liverpool in 2024 and has since been engaged as the head of global football for energy drink brand Red Bull, over-seeing a multi-club network which includes clubs in Austria, Germany, Brazil, the United States and Japan.Last weekend, Klopp said he was "more than recharged" following his break from the frontlines of football.Since winning the World Cup 12 years ago in Brazil, Germany suffered two consecutive group-stage exits, before their latest disappointment in North America this summer. 

Julian Nagelsmann is reportedly set to be sacked as Germany coach, tabloid Bild reported Thursday, with former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp the favourite to take over in the dugout.Nagelsmann, 38, has been under fire since Germany's last 32 exit from the World Cup after a shock loss to Paraguay.Showing pictures of Nagelsmann at German FA (DFB) headquarters in Frankfurt, Bild reported Thursday the coach had been offered a severance package of seven million euros ($8 million) to leave the position in a three-hour meeting.Last renewed in January 2025, Nagelsmann's contract is set to run until 2028.Figures on his annual salary have not been made public, although German media reports he earns roughly seven million euros per year.Germany's loss on penalties to Paraguay marked the third straight early World Cup exit for the four-time champions, after group stage eliminations in Russia and Qatar.Monday's defeat was Germany's first knockout match since winning the World Cup in Brazil in 2014.On Tuesday, DFB president Bernd Neuendorf announced an immediate investigation into the World Cup failure.A decision on Nagelsmann is expected "by the beginning of next week at the latest", AFP sports subsidiary SID reported Thursday.Several German media outlets, including Sky and Munich daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, have said Klopp is the overwhelming favourite to succeed Nagelsmann.Klopp stepped away from management after leaving Liverpool in 2024 and has since been engaged as the head of global football for energy drink brand Red Bull, over-seeing a multi-club network which includes clubs in Austria, Germany, Brazil, the United States and Japan. 

Despite leaving Liverpool as one of the most highly regarded coaches in world football in 2024, Jurgen Klopp said he never thought of himself as among the game’s best. “I never considered myself a world-class coach,” Klopp told AFP and other media in an interview in Leipzig, “because I still had so many questions when I finished. I was like ‘how can I be world class with these questions still?” After starting out at Mainz, where he took the club to the top flight for the first time, Klopp moved to Dortmund, where he won two Bundesliga titles and reached the 2013 Champions League final. After signing with Liverpool in 2015, Klopp’s Reds won every trophy on offer, including Champions League and Premier League. In his new role as Red Bull’s global head of football, where he oversees a multi-club structure with teams including RB Leipzig, New York Red Bulls and Paris FC, Klopp said that he wants to help coaches answer those questions. “My role with the coaches is to be the guy I never had. I sat in my office very, very, very often, very, very, very alone. A lot of people gave me advice and have great ideas... It’s great to have ideas, but it’s really not that easy to make the final decision. I want to be in moments when I know they are alone, or feel alone. I want to be there.” Klopp oversaw the firing of then-Leipzig coach Marco Rose, a long-time friend, in 2025 and said that being on the other side felt odd. “Grave-digger of the coaches – that’s a title I never wanted to win!” From taking Mainz to the Bundesliga to breaking Liverpool’s Premier League drought, Klopp improved clubs and players wherever he went. Often taking over with teams at a low ebb, the coach would try and put things in perspective. “How did I start a game? I would say ‘the worst news is you can lose it’ – so let’s try and win it... Do not try to avoid defeat – try to win.” The coach said he told his players: “Giving your all doesn’t mean you will get anything, but it’s your only chance to get something. That’s pretty much how you do it. We gave everything – and sometimes we got something.” Klopp said media and fans were too focused on results. “I never watch the goals back, because I want to understand the game to the left and the right of the result. I want to understand why it happened... Results are the result of the performance. So we worked on the performance and the results came later.” He said he “didn’t take any pride” out of trophy ceremonies and parades. “I love being a part of it, not in the middle of it. You might see pictures where someone gave me a trophy and I’d take it, but I didn’t need to touch it. For me, it was the journey that I loved. That gave me much more than the moment.” Klopp retains cult-like status at his former clubs, with fans remembering the German for his sideline antics and everyman appeal as much as his successes. RB Leipzig sporting director Marcel Schaefer told AFP that Klopp has brought the same presence into his new role, even if he is no longer on the sideline. “He has something that is unique. He has a god-given talent which everyone knows from his coaching jobs. He can catch people in five to 10 minutes.” Schaefer said Klopp plays an important role in player recruitment by “talking to families, talking to players about our vision, about our project. “You know if Jurgen Klopp is in the room.”Since stepping down at Anfield, Klopp has been linked to an array of high-profile coaching jobs, but he said that a return to the dugout is unlikely. “I don’t expect to change my mind, but I don’t know. “We’re building a house right now and my missus wanted to have a really big trophy room. There was another small room and I said ‘this is enough, because we know how many trophies we have, we will not add any.’ “It might sound arrogant, but I know I can coach a football team. But I don’t need to do it until my last day.” 

Former Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp says it is "theoretically possible" he could return to the Anfield hot seat one day, but he is convinced current boss Arne Slot will guide the club through the rough patch they are going through.Klopp left Liverpool at the end of the 2023-24 season after leading the Merseyside club to almost every major honour during his nine-year spell, including Champions League and Premier League triumphs. The 58-year-old German was succeeded by Slot, who became the first Dutch manager to win the Premier League."I said I will never coach a different team in England so that means if (I go back), then it's Liverpool. So yeah, theoretically it's possible," Klopp said. However, he said he is content in his current role as head of global soccer for Red Bull."I love what I do now. I don't miss coaching. I do coach but it's just different, it's not players," Klopp said. "I don't miss standing in the rain for two-and-a-half or three hours. I also don't miss going to press conferences three times a week ... I don't miss being in the dressing room... I'm 58. From your perspective that might be old, but from other perspectives, it's not that old. That means I could make a decision in a few years. I don't know."Liverpool have suffered four consecutive defeats for the first time since November 2014 following Sunday's 2-1 home loss to Manchester United but Klopp was confident Slot will turn things around with players like Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike at his disposal. "Wirtz, you all will eat your words if you use the wrong words. He's an incredible talent," he added. "Ekitike, incredible player. Just the offensive players ... it's a really, really good squad. So you don't have to worry about Liverpool, they will be fine."Liverpool 'better team' despite losing streak, says Frankfurt coachEintracht Frankfurt coach Dino Toppmoeller said that Liverpool have been "the better team in every game" of their four-match losing streak, as his side prepares to take on the Reds in the Champions League Wednesday.Reigning Premier League champions Liverpool are in the midst of surprising slump given that they bolstered their squad over the close-season to the tune of nearly £450mn ($604mn) worth of new signings. Arne Slot's team lost 2-1 to arch-rivals Manchester United on Sunday, coming after defeats against Crystal Palace, Galatasaray and Chelsea. Liverpool had not lost four in a row for more than a decade.Speaking to reporters, Toppmoeller said that Sunday's game "could have been 4-2 for Liverpool", adding that the Reds "are not in top form, only in the sense of their results. "When you watch the games, which of course we did, you see that they seem to lack a bit of a spark at the moment," the 44-year-old said. "But in every game, they've been the better team and have had more chances at goal. We're expecting a world-class team tomorrow," Toppmoeller said, adding that the English champions would arrive in Frankfurt highly motivated. "You've got to be aware of what it does to a team to lose four in a row."Liverpool's last four-game losing streak came in November 2014 under former manager Brendan Rodgers. One of the team's issues is the dip in form suffered by star forward Mo Salah. But Toppmoeller said that the Egyptian "was probably among the top three players in the world over the past decade -- and still is."Another Red not delivering his best is Germany's £100 million midfielder Florian Wirtz, who is returning to his home country for the first time since moving to Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer. Toppmoeller said that Wirtz's performances were "quite decent, even if he hasn't got the numbers he had in Leverkusen."He's at a club where the spotlight is so bright and where people across the world are always watching. "I'm incredibly convinced of his quality. I hope he doesn't show that tomorrow, that's something we should worry about."