ISTANBUL
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is the leading candidate to become Germany’s next national team coach following Julian Nagelsmann’s resignation, the country’s leading football writer told Anadolu.
Christoph Biermann, chief writer at German sports magazine 11Freunde, said Klopp’s “energetic style of coaching would be helpful for the team.”
Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann stepped down following the national team’s shock exit from the Round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
After topping Group E with six points, Germany entered the knockout stage hoping to end a 12-year wait for World Cup glory.
However, Germany suffered a shock elimination at the hands of Paraguay, who had advanced from Group D with four points.
The match at Boston Stadium ended 1-1 after extra time before Paraguay claimed a 4-3 victory in the penalty shootout.
The elimination revived memories of some of Germany’s most disappointing major tournament exits, including the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA EURO 2000.
Renewed debate over state of German football
Germany’s exit has reignited debate over the state of the country’s football.
In Biermann’s opinion, Klopp is one of the most successful and most popular coaches German football has ever produced.
Biermann stressed that Klopp would not be able to solve all of Germany’s problems, but said there was a strong chance his work could be highly beneficial to the national team.
“I think the successful years in Liverpool had taken a huge toll on him. He says that he is fit and relaxed and recovered after this two-year break where he was working for Red Bull,” he said.
About Nagelsmann, he said he had lost his way over the past two years.
“I don’t know exactly why, but his style of communication, handling the situation, and so on, was more in the style of a club coach than a national coach, and that was a big problem.”
German football infrastructure is not where it needs to be
Biermann said Germany’s famous football infrastructure is no longer producing players at the level it once did.
“I think it’s pretty obvious that this system has to be refurbished because it doesn’t produce as many talented players as it did before, especially when you compare it to other countries like Spain, France and so on,” he added.
He said Germany had undertaken a major overhaul of its youth football system in recent years, but emphasized that such reforms take time, noting that it typically takes around a decade for changes to produce results at the highest level.
“I think in Germany we have to be a bit patient until the results of these changes kick in, maybe in six to eight years,” he said.
When asked about the racist abuse directed at German footballers with immigrant backgrounds following the team’s defeats, he said he did not believe such incidents were representative of the overall public sentiment toward the German national team.
“When you look at social media, you will find a lot of idiots who blame players who are not white, who have an immigration background, and so on,” he said.
Germany’s poor performance is a temporary setback
Biermann said that the national team enjoyed a respectable UEFA EURO 2024 campaign before being narrowly eliminated by eventual champions Spain.
“When you remember the handball of Spain’s Marc Cucurella, there’s much talk about this still today,” he said.
Biermann stressed that the disappointing World Cup campaign was a mix of poor form from key players and unfortunate circumstances.
“Especially Musiala, who came back from a long injury, Florian Wirtz, who had a disappointing season at Liverpool, and also Kai Havertz, who came back only in March, also after a very heavy injury,” he said.
Biermann has worked for football magazine 11Freunde since 2010.
He has worked for taz, Stern, and Die Zeit, and served as an editor at Süddeutsche Zeitung and Der Spiegel. Widely regarded as one of Germany’s leading football journalists, he has written extensively on the sport and published numerous books on football.
His latest book is On the Power of Chance in Football.
