EXCLUSIVE Jurgen Klopp remarkably threatened to quit in his first press conference as Germany manager and a former international star has admitted he was taken aback by the Liverpool icon
Jurgen Klopp made his stance as new Germany manager crystal clear in an emphatic first press conference.
The Liverpool icon was named as Julian Nagelsmann’s replacement after Germany were embarrassingly dumped out of the World Cup on penalties by Paraguay. His new role marks his first return to the dugout in two years, and the 59-year-old stated he will not be entertaining any nonsense by the press.
Klopp remarkably threatened to quit in his first interview, saying: “If you behave badly and don’t leave my family in peace then I’ll be gone, I’ll just turn away. I know there are other countries where national team coaches are treated even worse.
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“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. I love this job but I am always ready to call it quits if need be.”
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Star Sport via Mr Q, former Liverpool and Germany star Didi Hamann said: “I think the German public wanted him.
“There was already talk before the World Cup that, if things didn’t go well, because obviously there were some signs which didn’t look too good before the World Cup.
“A lot of people had doubts about whether it was going to work out under Nagelsmann. And a lot of people even said before, ‘Well, if it goes wrong, then Klopp will take over. He’s the man.’
“He wasn’t free because he was with Red Bull, but he found a solution pretty quickly. And he’s the man people wanted.
“I think he wanted it because, if he didn’t take it now, if somebody else came in and did well, the job might be occupied for four, six or maybe even eight years, as we’ve seen with France. So, yeah, I think it’s the appointment everybody wanted.
“I was surprised by how forward he was with one or two things he said in the press conference, but obviously he got it all off his chest to lay down a marker straight away in the first press conference.
“And now everybody’s looking forward to the first internationals in September and October because, in the last 12 or 18 months under Nagelsmann, I think the German public was pretty disillusioned when it came to the national team, and that changed within a day or two when his appointment was made public.”
Germany fans will have to wait until the end of September to see their new manager in the dugout, in an extended international break that has four matchdays in the Nations League.