Jürgen Klopp is back in the dugout. The German Football Association (DFB) has handed the 59-year-old a four-year deal to manage the national team, roughly three weeks after Julian Nagelsmann resigned following a World Cup exit on penalties against Paraguay BBC Sport.

The story has a twist worthy of the game itself. Klopp was working as a touchline television pundit — analysing matches from the sideline rather than commanding them — when Germany were knocked out of the 2026 World Cup in the Round of 32, the first knockout round after the group stage. Nagelsmann walked the next day. Bild broke the news on 2 July, and the DFB confirmed his departure the following day, announcing it would seek talks with Klopp Reuters.

What followed, by DFB president Bernd Neuendorf's account, was a relentless pursuit. Neuendorf called Klopp the "unequivocal choice" and said the federation chased him hard BBC Sport. The DFB's official website confirmed an "intensive discussion" had taken place. Roughly three weeks later, the deal was done.

Klopp's remit is clear and long: guide Germany through Euro 2028 and the 2030 World Cup. His first match arrives quickly — the Netherlands visit on 24 September, a fixture that needs no dressing up. Germany versus the Netherlands is one of international football's oldest rivalries, stretching back decades.

The man taking charge brings a thick résumé. The DFB's own datacentre lists 828 matches managed across his career, with 423 wins, 206 draws and 199 losses. Those numbers span Mainz, Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool, where he won the Champions League in 2019 and ended a 30-year wait for the English league title the following season. He stepped away from Liverpool in 2024, citing exhaustion, and had not returned to management since — until now.

For German fans, the appointment lands as something close to relief. A World Cup exit on penalties is a bitter way to go out, and Nagelsmann's departure left the national team without a coach at a moment when the calendar offers no real pause. Klopp's energy and his ability to connect with supporters — the fist-pumps, the touchline passion, the plain speaking in interviews — are the qualities the DFB will be banking on.

The four-year contract gives him time to shape a squad in his image. The Netherlands friendly in September will be the first glimpse of what that looks like.