Jurgen Klopp vows to quit Germany job if media invade his personal life
By Carl Markham, Press Association
New Germany head coach Jurgen Klopp laid down the law in typical no-nonsense fashion on his first day by insisting he would quit without hesitation or compensation should he not be up to the task or the media intruded into his personal life.
The 59-year-old, who has signed a four-year contract, spoke for more than 45 minutes at a press conference and made it clear he had taken the role out of national pride and not because he needed to get back into football.
And he sent an early warning he would not stand for any of the treatment which predecessor Julian Nagelsmann or former Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel – now England coach – had endured.
“I’m not doing this job for myself. I’m doing it for you. I’m taking this job even though I’ve seen how you’ve treated Julian Nagelsmann and Thomas Tuchel,” said the former Liverpool manager in a stern address to assembled media.
“If tomorrow Jurgen Klopp is s*** then I will be gone. But if the DFB (German Football Association) says ‘Come on, let’s discontinue the job’ then that is it.
“And if you behave badly and don’t leave my family in peace I will be gone, I’ll just turn away. I love this job, but I’m always ready to call it quits.”
Nagelsmann resigned after Germany’s shock World Cup exit on penalties to Paraguay in the last 32.
Klopp said his own World Cup experience as a television pundit had provided some insight but it was no surprise he wanted to transfer his club football style to the national team.
“It could have been a bit more intense,” he added.
“What we need to achieve is more intensity, more running, more dedication: counter-pressing has always been a key for me.
“What I am really looking forward to is working with players that play football that everyone loves; that doesn’t necessarily mean immediately successful but I want to create a situation where spectators go home and say ‘Wow, that was cool’.
“Jurgen Klopp doesn’t automatically mean we are going to be world champions. Success is performance versus expectations. I think we need a new set of expectations.
“We will leave no stone unturned, if there is anything to be adapted, changed or deleted I will do exactly that.”
Klopp is reunited with former Liverpool assistants Pep Lijnders, who left Manchester City after Pep Guardiola’s departure, and Peter Krawietz, with Sven Bender – who played under Klopp at Borussia Dortmund – also joining.
His agent Marc Kosicke assumes an administrative role for “strategy and innovation”.
As a long-time critic of the international calendar Klopp, whose release from his Red Bull global head of soccer job involved a one million euros donation to the company’s charitable foundation and a commitment to play three matches in Leipzig, pledged to be more sympathetic to club managers.
“If someone says ‘You can’t call him and because he has done four matches in a row’ I will say ‘fine’,” he said.
“I will not fight tooth and nail for that player, I will listen to the club coach.”
He is confident his style will transfer to the national team despite having less time to work with his squad, admitting he had not “prepared 800 training sessions”.
“The actual work on the pitch is something you can’t change, of course it will be much less than a club but I don’t think I will be missing it too much,” he said.
