Jurgen Klopp and the German Football Association (DFB) will continue negotiations this weekend for the former Liverpool manager to become the national side’s next head coach.
Klopp has already indicated his willingness to succeed Julian Nagelsmann, who resigned after Germany’s last-32 World Cup elimination by Paraguay, but is yet to finalise an agreement.
The 59-year-old has been working as a pundit on German streaming service Magenta TV during the tournament and will break from those duties to meet DFB officials in New York.
Pep Lijnders, who was Klopp’s assistant at Liverpool and worked with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, has provisionally agreed to become his No. 2 once an agreement can be found.
The expectation is that it will be, but the DFB will also need to agree on a compensation package with Red Bull, for whom Klopp currently works as Global Head of Soccer.
That is not likely to be an obstacle, but an agreement is still to be reached with Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff.
Speaking to German national broadcaster ZDF on Sunday, Hans-Joachim Watzke, the vice-president of the DFB, spoke of his optimism about finding an agreement, but denied previous claiming that anything had been finalised.
“This is not a done deal yet,” Watzke said. “There are still hurdles to overcome. Especially considering that he has a contract at RB. I’m a bit more skeptical than others. I’m convinced the chances are higher than 50 per cent, but that doesn’t mean it’s 100 per cent.
“Jurgen is our plan A and we want to implement our plan A. There are problems to be solved. Jurgen’s willingness to solve these problems is a significant help. Of course, we have our limits. We expect, or rather I expect, a slight ‘patriotism discount’ from Jurgen in particular. I know that he loves Germany.”
Appointment almost certain
Analysis from Sebastian Stafford-Bloor
This will almost certainly happen, but it’s not an easy negotiation. First, because Klopp will be leaving an extremely well-paid job at Red Bull. Second, because he is expected to have a wide-ranging brief at the DFB, with authority extending the technical area and into more ideological areas.
German football has plunged into existential crisis since the Paraguay defeat and there is now wide recognition that a simple change of coach cannot be the only response. Klopp is a candidate because of what he achieved in his career, but also because he has the gravitas and reputational muscle to oversee real evolution.
He knows the scale of the task. During his punditry work at the World Cup, Klopp spoke of the “fundamental change” that now needs to take place around the national team, in recognition of issues that extend beyond team selection and tactics, to topics such as talent development and playing identity. This is a big job and, as such, defining it in contractual terms could be tricky.
Not that anyone expects anything other than a resolution. Klopp will almost certainly become the next Germany head coach, but precisely what that role entails just has to be determined first.