Carlo Ancelotti has already warned Jurgen Klopp about a big problem the Liverpool legend will face in his next job, with talks regarding the German national team role to accelerate
04:00, 07 Jul 2026
Carlo Ancelotti during Brazil vs Norway at the World Cup.
Carlo Ancelotti during Brazil vs Norway at the World Cup.(Image: Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Jurgen Klopp taking over as the next manager of Germany has long felt inevitable. Even when the Liverpool legend stepped away from coaching, there was one job that would pull him back in.
"When I stopped at Liverpool, I lacked the energy for even one more year with the club, and I’m more than recharged now," Klopp said last week. With Julian Nagelsmann having resigned following his side's limp exit from the World Cup, the 59-year-old will be tempted back into management, having already made it clear that he would be open to the position.
Though Klopp managing Germany feels right — and he could make his debut in the dugout against some familiar faces, given their next game will be against the Netherlands — he is taking on a mammoth task.
This iteration of Germany is a far cry from the one that won the World Cup during Klopp's time at Borussia Dortmund. And unlike in the club game, you can't simply buy the players who can provide a fix.
Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala are Germany's best players, but they essentially play in the same position. Kai Havertz is another who operates as a kind of number 10.
Experienced players like Manuel Neuer and Joshua Kimmich may be nearing the end of their careers, and the best up-and-coming talent aside from Bayern Munich's Lennart Karl is Assan Ouedraogo — you guessed it, an attacking midfielder.
Jurgen Klopp
Jurgen Klopp is working as a pundit at World Cup 2026(Image: Harry Langer/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)
For all the focus on technique in the last few years, Germany lacks players with grit and has too many stars who want to do the same thing, some of whom are moved out of position as a result.
Deniz Undav, a player Klopp said before the tournament should start, looked good as an impact substitute in the US, but fell by the wayside when he came into the first XI. Nick Woltemade's career has stalled.
A lot like Brazil, which looked a shadow of what a team wearing the famous green and yellow jerseys should be at the World Cup, there are simply too many holes in the team for a stellar head coach to paper over.
Carlo Ancelotti could do nothing as his team crashed out against Erling Haaland and Norway, with Brazil lacking legs in the center of the field and a clinical edge in the final third.
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And like with any of these roles, even though there is only one country that can win either the World Cup or the European Championship every two years, anything less than silverware will be deemed a failure.
Klopp accepting the Germany job was inevitable. The emotional pull is far too large for him to have turned it down, and it comes with the perk of not being as intense day-to-day as a club role.
In following the likes of Ancelotti, Thomas Tuchel and others into the international side of the game, Klopp will be able to carry on playing padel and traveling the world, with work commitments much more sporadic than when he was at Liverpool.
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There is a huge amount of work to be done for Germany to get back on track, however. Well beyond Klopp, the talent development needs improving, and the system needs a shake-up. Without that, it doesn't matter who stands on the touchline.