I wrote a piece for The Telegraph – discussing the virtues of Thomas Tuchel and Jürgen Klopp – that, on reflection, feels somewhat timely given Germany’s exit from the World Cup. Not to mention the questions that must now follow around Julian Nagelsmann’s continued helmanship of the national team. Tuchel, of course, can’t be considered a potential successor at this point while he continues to manage England. But perhaps that isn’t such a big problem, because while the former Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich boss is undoubtedly respected in his native Germany, he’s not loved – not like Klopp. And let’s be clear: everyone loves Jürgen Klopp. He’s not only a very, very good manager (like Tuchel), he’s also a very sympathetic character. Everyone genuinely adores him; the team loves him, the supporters love him, and Germany loves him too. That’s why we think the next Bundestrainer should be Jürgen Klopp.
The great pity is that we still have a Bundestrainer at the helm, and that’s Julian Nagelsmann. But I think, given there will be talks taking place in the coming days when the team is back in Frankfurt (and also when all the bosses are present), they will talk about the future of Nagelsmann. He didn’t say that he would step down – that’s a pity. After such a tournament, stepping down is probably the right thing to do. I can see why he didn’t; he has two years left on his current deal. So the 38-year-old will earn a lot of money if he stays put. Of course, the same can be said if Germany sack him! This is the way it should be, because everyone really wants to see Jürgen Klopp leading the country. The best thing about this scenario is that it means England can’t take him away again! You can keep Tuchel, and we’ll get Jürgen Klopp.
The former Liverpool boss has every skill that Nagelsmann is missing. I heard from the camp that he wasn’t talking to the players, and everyone was wondering why. In Germany, we have a word, “besserwisser”, which roughly translates to someone who always knows better than everyone else what the best way is to do something. But if you’re like this, then you kind of need to back that up with results.