After his appointment as Germany coach was confirmed, Jurgen Klopp warned he would resign as soon as the media started to attack him or look into his family’s private life.
The 59-year-old was unveiled on Friday as Germany’s new head coach following Julian Nagelsmann’s departure after the country’s last-32 exit to Paraguay at the World Cup. Klopp returns to management for the first time since leaving Liverpool two years ago, having spent the past 18 months as Red Bull’s head of global soccer.
His contract runs until after the 2030 World Cup, although Klopp made clear he sees the position as the final coaching role of his career and insisted he would leave immediately if he felt his family were being targeted.
“I’m taking this job even though I’ve seen how you treated Nagelsmann,” Klopp said. “I’m taking this job even though I’ve seen how you’ve treated, in England, Thomas Tuchel. The day you don’t want me anymore, I’m gone, without any severance pay.
“If you say tomorrow: ‘He’s shit’, tell me to my face and I’m out. If you behave badly and don’t leave my family in peace, I’m gone, I’ll just turn away.
“Criticise me if something doesn’t work. Jurgen Klopp is not going to have any career after the national team. This is the pinnacle of my career as a coach. I will give it everything I’ve got.”
Klopp also said restoring Germany’s bond with its supporters will be one of his main priorities as he seeks to turn the ship around after years of disappointing performances. The four-time world champions have failed to reach the World Cup last 16 since lifting the trophy in Brazil in 2014.
“I want to create a situation where fans go home after the game and say: ‘Wow, that was cool,'” he said. “I want people to say: ‘Wow, it was worth putting the TV on for 90 minutes to see Germany play.’ I’ve lived and experienced how football can change a city. And I think it’s not only about cities, it’s also about the country. Ideally, football can change a country.”
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Klopp also revisited comments he made while working as a television pundit during the World Cup, when he joked that Nagelsmann was “still” selecting Germany’s team. The remark drew criticism after Nagelsmann’s exit and Klopp repeated his apology, saying the pair had not spoken since the appointment.
“We haven’t had any exchange,” he said. “It was a joke. In retrospect it was one of the worst ‘funny’ remarks I have ever made. I feel awfully sorry, I’ve apologised a million times.
“It was just a rash thing to say, with no ulterior motive whatsoever, and I can only wish him the best.
“Now he can go on to pastures new and I’m absolutely sure he will have many opportunities to coach a big team in future.”
The former Liverpool manager said Germany would develop an intense, attacking identity rather than attempt to copy leading international sides, acknowledging the squad lacks the depth of attacking talent available to countries such as France.
“Success is performance relative to expectations,” Klopp said. “When we ask in Germany: ‘Are we as good as France?’ and the answer is no, that’s not true. If we ask: ‘Do we have players like Dembele, Mbappe, Doue and Barcola?’, no we don’t, but we can still beat them.
“We don’t want to play like Argentina, Spain, England or France. We want to do it the German way, very intense. Are we the No 1 team right now? No, we accept that. There are 11 teams ahead of us in the ranking. We can beat them, but for this to happen we need to play very good, very intense football.”
Klopp also pledged to work more closely with club managers despite previously criticising the demands of the international calendar. He said he would respect requests over player workload rather than insist on every available call-up.
“If someone says ‘You can’t call him because he has done four matches in a row’ I will say ‘fine,'” he said. “I will not fight tooth and nail for that player, I will listen to the club coach.”
He added that limited time with players would not prevent him from influencing the squad.
“I think contact with a team is not necessarily about working with them day in, day out,” Klopp said. “Sometimes it will be 30 minutes or an hour and that will be on the pitch. But all of them have a mobile. I’ll talk to them, listen to them, watch games and give my feedback.”
Klopp’s first match in charge will be away to the Netherlands in Amsterdam on 24 September, the opening fixture of a run of four Nations League games in 11 days.
