Football: After initial reluctance, Klopp ready to take Germany job

Berlin, July 5 (IANS) Jurgen Klopp has confirmed his interest in succeeding Julian Nagelsmann as Germany coach but stressed that talks with the German Football Association (DFB) and his current employer Red Bull remain necessary. Klopp had earlier expressed his reluctance over the coaching opportunity after Germany’s below-par performance in the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup.

But he now seems to have changed his mind.

In an interview with broadcaster MagentaTV on Saturday night, the 59-year-old Klopp, Red Bull’s Head of Global Soccer since January 2025, said he was prepared to return to coaching after stepping down at Liverpool two years ago because of declining energy.

“The timing is not perfect now either. Nevertheless, it is better than it has ever been. I am now more than recharged. So I am ready,” Klopp added.

After Germany’s World Cup elimination by Paraguay in the Round of 32 and Nagelsmann’s departure, the DFB confirmed that it had contacted Klopp over the vacant post.

Klopp, the former Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool coach, remains under contract with Red Bull until the end of 2029.

“I have an existing contract with Red Bull. I like to honour contracts,” Klopp said, while adding that he had expressed an interest in holding talks with the DFB. Klopp said he must also speak with Red Bull chief executive Oliver Mintzlaff before any agreement could be reached.

“I know that German football is close to Oliver Mintzlaff’s heart and that he is therefore relatively open to these talks, but they still have to be held,” Klopp told MagentaTV. He added that Red Bull needed to be able to handle a possible departure properly and said the ideal outcome would leave all parties satisfied.

Klopp also warned that Germany’s difficulties extended beyond the identity of the national coach and argued that bigger changes are required. “The problems we currently have are not down to Julian Nagelsmann,” he said. “German football is at a turning point. We now must change things fundamentally.”

Klopp said the need for reform would remain regardless of whether he ultimately takes charge. “Whether that will be me in the end or whoever it will be does not change the fact that the changes are necessary,” he said.

–IANS

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