Could Jurgen Klopp realistically become German national team manager after Liverpool?

It’s hard to argue the fact that Jurgen Klopp is one of the best managers in the world. His track record for Mainz 05, Borussia Dortmund, and Liverpool speaks for itself and he’s currently just about midway through serving his sixth season in charge of Liverpool. He’s guided them to a Champions League title (2019) as well as their first Premier League title in thirty years (2019/2020).

Klopp is contractually tied to Liverpool until 2024, but there have been some suggestions that he might leave prior to then to become manager of the German national team after the 2022 World Cup. Sport Bild’s Christian Falk believes that Klopp will end his tenure with Liverpool in 2022 to take over for Joachim Low as Die Mannschaft manager. On Twitter, Norwegian pundit Jan Aage Fjortoft referenced Falk’s assertion Klopp could be heir apparent to Low for Germany. Falk then replied to Fjortoft stating that the timing would work out given Klopp’s “seven-year itch.”

Klopp spent seven years at both Mainz and Dortmund before moving on and then taking a sabbatical.

Of course, as Fjortoft pointed out, Germany play host to Euro 2024, which would make a potential offer to manage the German national team all the more enticing for Klopp. This, added with a general sense of bemusement amongst German fans as to why the DFB has been so reluctant to get rid of Joachim Low, could offer the perfect path for Klopp to step in if he chooses to end his Liverpool contract prematurely.

Low could technically still have a strong outing at next summer’s European Championship, but Die Mannschaft’s recent performances have not exactly instilled a lot of confidence going forward. It will be a schedule like never before seen with the 2022 World Cup coming the year after Euro 2021 because of the coronavirus, but even a change ahead of the tournament in Qatar could be the best move for the DFB and Klopp.

If Germany does well at Euro 2021, that could be a lifeline for Low, but it’s tough to say whether or not the DFB would keep him in charge in 2022 even if the team does well next summer. Either way, Klopp would be the popular candidate to succeed Low.

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