“I’m ready”: Jürgen Klopp wants to become national coach

Jürgen Klopp wants to become national coach after Julian Nagelsmann’s resignation. “The timing isn’t perfect even now. Nevertheless, it’s better than it ever was. I’m more than recharged now. So I’m ready,” said the preferred candidate of the German Football Association (DFB) on Magenta TV on Friday evening.

In the wake of the separation from Nagelsmann, the DFB has already confirmed that it had contacted Klopp, 59. The coach, who became champions in Germany and England with Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool FC, is currently still tied to Red Bull as “Head of Global Soccer”.

“I have an existing contract with Red Bull. I like to keep contracts. But I am interested in discussions. There will have to be intensive discussions. The problems we currently have are not linked to Julian Nagelsmann’s personality,” said Klopp: “I also have to talk to my boss Oliver Mintzlaff. German football is important to him. Red Bull has to get out of the situation cleanly. It’s not that easy to get out of there.”

According to Klopp, German football is “at a turning point”: “We now have to fundamentally change things. Whether it ends up being me or whoever it is, that doesn’t change the fact that the changes are necessary.”

Klopp’s statement on Magenta TV in full:

When asked whether there have already been discussions with the DFB:

“Yes, I can confirm that, but I’ll go into the whole thing a little bit. It wasn’t that long ago that we were behind the goal in the penalty shootout (Note: against Paraguay), and when Manuel Neuer saved the penalty, we all cheered like crazy and were happy and were relatively sure that we would take it now because the moment was on our side. Then about three minutes later we discovered that that wasn’t the case. Then the whole thing picked up speed quite quickly. I just want to say that I am well aware of how close the weal and woe are in football. If we had scored the penalty afterwards and Paraguay hadn’t, then we wouldn’t be standing here today. But now things are as they are. Julian has resigned and the DFB is looking into a succession plan and has approached me in the wake of these thoughts.”

There are these conversations. What is missing for agreement?

“Time. The fact is that I have an existing contract with Red Bull. I have said several times how much I enjoy doing this job. As a person, I am usually very happy to keep contracts. But I also said that I am interested in the discussions, because of course they have to be held first. There will have to be intensive discussions because of course the problems we are currently having are not linked to Julian Nagelsmann’s personality. Julian is an exceptional coach, he will prove that many times in his coaching life “That’s why you just have to wait and see what happens. These are some conversations, and of course I also have to have the other conversations with my employer, with Oliver Mintzlaff, because I know that German football is important to him and he is therefore very open to these conversations. But they still have to be held.

What is the status of these discussions – are there any hurdles?

“It’s difficult to anticipate conversations, but of course we’ve already talked about things and I’m not assuming that. Ideally, in the end there are only winners after a story like this. You just say, okay, Red Bull has to be able to get out of the situation cleanly. I’ve been there for 19 months, the public may still be wondering to this day what exactly is he doing there. But it was a very intensive time. I was on the move all over the world, learned a lot, a lot We’ve gained experience and we’ve changed a lot of things. And it’s not as easy as just getting out, but it has to be clarified that it can continue.

Is now the timing good for Jürgen Klopp to become national coach?

“Even now it’s not perfect. Because I’m under contract with Red Bull. But it’s still better than it ever was. And what’s more, I left Liverpool about two years ago and said that I don’t have the energy for another job or for another year with Liverpool. I’m more than recharged now. So I’m ready. (…) I wanted to use that today (…), there’s quite a lot of writing out there and you can say something about it.

How does Klopp assess the potential of German football?

“Well, I think it’s still a bit of an unlaid egg, if you will. It’s completely clear, as I just said, it’s not just the head coach, it’s definitely not. But German football is of course now at a turning point. We now have to fundamentally change things. Whether it will be me in the end or whoever it will be, that doesn’t change the fact that the changes are necessary.”

As a possible future national coach – did he also benefit from his work as a TV expert during the World Cup?

“Well, that definitely doesn’t make you stupider, not in my profession anyway. So we’ve seen incredibly good football. We’ve also seen less good football. But it was always football, and there are always reasons for the performance that you see. And now, of course, it’s like further training. So whatever happens next for me: I certainly won’t be any stupider after this World Cup. I’ll have learned a lot again, and that’s of course necessary.”