Klopp is coming home

The story so far

Foot Mercato reported on 24 July 2026 that Klopp has reportedly been confirmed as the new Germany head coach, ending what would be roughly an 18-month absence from management since he left Liverpool in the summer of 2024. The French outlet is a credible source — but this is, for now, a single-source story. The DFB has not issued a public statement, and Germany's major football press — Kicker, Bild, Sky Germany — have not yet moved on it. Flagside is watching for corroboration.

The context around Nagelsmann's departure is also drawn from this single report. Germany's alleged exit at the hands of Paraguay in the Round of 16 at a home-continent World Cup would represent a serious embarrassment — the kind that ends coaching tenures quickly and loudly.

Why Klopp makes sense — and why it's complicated

If this is confirmed, the logic is obvious. Klopp is the most charismatic German manager on the planet — the man who rebuilt Borussia Dortmund into Bundesliga title winners and delivered Liverpool their first league title in 30 years. His gegenpressing identity is baked into the DNA of modern German football. He speaks the language — literally and culturally — in a way few coaches available to the DFB could match.

The complication is the one that always follows elite club managers to international football: time. Klopp's genius has always been built on the training ground, on daily repetition, on the kind of relationship-building that a two-week international window simply doesn't allow. He said as much himself when he left Liverpool — that he needed rest, not a new project. Something, apparently, has changed.

What it would mean

A Klopp-led Germany would arrive at Euro 2028 as one of the most-watched sides in the tournament regardless of squad quality. His appointment alone shifts the narrative around German football from crisis to curiosity. The DFB would be buying more than a tactical system — they'd be buying back relevance, energy, and a global story.

Klopp once said he only ever wanted to manage two clubs: Mainz and Dortmund. He managed both, then went and won everything at Liverpool. Managing Germany was never part of the plan he described publicly. That's what makes this — if it holds up — genuinely surprising. The next move is the DFB's: a press conference or a denial will settle it.