Klopp’s revolution goes beyond football

Germany’s new boss has spoken out against far-right nationalism while taking an unconventional approach to his first international break, writes JAMES NALTON

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JURGEN KLOPP is tackling the job of managing the German national team in an unconventional manner, but one that, given the timing alongside recent political events in Germany, might make him one of the most important managerial appointments in recent history.

On the sporting side, he has selected his team for the upcoming international break in an unorthodox fashion, selecting two separate squads and 44 players in total. 

More importantly, on the political side, from the beginning of his tenure he has stated plainly his views on the rise of the far right in German politics.

It appears that Klopp will not stand on ceremony in this job.

In his first press conference as Germany manager back in July, Klopp said that if any of the media go beyond the remit of writing about himself and the German national team, and start doing things like bothering his family, he will quit the job. 

He’s going about this in the way he wants to go about it, using his hard-earned status in the game to do the job on his own terms.

His approach will also go down well with his fellow managers working in the club game.

He has the experience to understand international football from their perspective, as shown in the way he has approached his squad selection for this international window that comes so early in the new season.

It’s a selection that ensures players aren’t overworked, and it’s an approach that goes back to the concerns Klopp had as a club manager that players were playing too many games.

Klopp has a stature in the game and in Germany to be able to do things his own way, and that includes talking about politics in a way that might be unpopular with some.

Klopp has never shied away from political statements and has always spoken his mind in press conferences.

His recent opposition to Alternative for Germany (AfD), though he didn’t mention them by name, is the latest example of this.

“I don’t want to leave national pride to the wrong people,” Klopp said in a press conference this week. 

“I’d like to reclaim the flag for myself and for us. I want us to wave it in a way where no-one thinks, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ 

“But rather, people get the feeling that you’re happy and understand how lucky you are to have been born in, raised in, or moved to this wonderful country. 

“Can you be proud to be German and still be open, diverse, kind, and friendly? Can you have compassion? I’m 100 per cent sure, yes.”

This goes back to the kind of national pride seen from some nations at the recent World Cup.

It’s an opposition to far-right nationalism in that it seeks to involve everyone who wants to enjoy a country, to be able to do so and be proud to do so, regardless of their circumstances or background. 

It is a celebration of a homeland that welcomes others, boasts about the positives, and wants others to enjoy them too, rather than being insular or discriminatory.

International football is inherently linked to politics, not least because its teams are derived from the political map of the world.

This means an international manager might have to deal with political issues more often than a club manager, or at least be expected to speak out rather than make no comment.

They are almost serving as a diplomat for the country whose national football team they manage.

Klopp showed during his time as a manager in club football that he will not shy away from such topics.

“I wouldn’t call myself very political, but I’m on the left, of course — more left than middle,” Klopp said in 2009.

“I believe in the welfare state. I don’t mind paying [national] health insurance, and I would never vote for a party because they promised to lower the top tax rate.

“My political understanding is this: if I’m doing well, I want others to do well, too. If there’s something I’ll never do in my life, it’s vote for the right.”

Klopp was also very particular about which clubs he managed, even in the moments where he could have had the pick of any team in the world.

You get the impression managing Germany would have been the only managerial job he would take after leaving Liverpool, which made rumours linking him to Real Madrid prior to him taking the national team job seem folly.

“The general view on life for people in Liverpool is very similar to mine,” Klopp said on his time at Liverpool in 2024. 

“I’m ready to fight for the right things. Do I think I deserve everything? No, it’s fine for others to have things as well.

“I’m not a socialist, but I come from there. I understand life like that.”

Leading the national team at a time when a far-right nationalist party is seeing electoral success is a difficult challenge, but in Klopp, Germany has an ideal figure at the helm for such a situation.

Given what is happening in the country, this might be one of the shrewdest and most important appointments the German FA have ever made, and that’s before you even get to the football.

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