‘Be less sh*t’ - Jurgen Klopp set simple challenge as Germany boss as ex-Liverpool manager is backed to bring ‘heavy metal football’ to the Euros & World Cup

Klopp stepped away from the stresses of coaching during the summer of 2024 when bringing an iconic nine-year stint at Anfield to a close. He had delivered Premier League and Champions League titles to Merseyside.

Having opted to cut his contract short, the enigmatic tactician linked up with Red Bull as their Head of Global Football. More family time was enjoyed, with the pressure of picking starting XIs and overseeing transfer business being removed from his shoulders.

There was, however, always going to be an itch for Klopp to scratch, with it difficult to forget about the training field when your entire adult life has been spent in those surroundings. He was linked with several prominent posts across Europe - including the one at Real Madrid.

Eventually, after watching Julian Nagelsmann oversee a disappointing last-32 exit at the 2026 World Cup, Klopp was lured back into the dugout by Die Mannschaft. At 59 years of age, he is ready to bring his unique style of management back to dressing rooms and touchlines across the globe - with a contract that runs through the 2030 World Cup being signed.

Asked what Klopp must deliver in order for those terms to be honoured, with a Euros to come first in 2028, ex-Germany international Huth - who was speaking via SportsbookReview.com, which also covers current Polymarket offers and promo code availability - told GOAL: “Be less sh*t! The bar isn't very high, I think, at the moment.

“I think what that appointment has done already in Germany, without Germany having played a game yet, is kind of brought that togetherness straight away - which kind of happened on the day he was appointed. Everyone was going, ‘yes, yes, now we've got that guy who we wanted 10 years ago’.

“Obviously, he was with Liverpool and Dortmund prior to that. But he's got that personality, the mindset, the knowledge of what it takes to get a nation back together. And I don't know if you saw his first press conference, I was like, ‘oh, where are my boots, I want to put my boots back on and start playing again!’ Not that I would be selected, but do you know what I mean? Like, I was watching the press conference again.

“I can only imagine being an active player and listening to a press conference because there was no BS. There were no clever words. It was like, ‘listen, if you want to play for Germany, you're going to have to run a bit harder, you're going to have to fight harder, this is going to mean a bit more when you put the badge on’.

“It could have been very easy to throw the previous managers under the bus, ‘that was rubbish’, which I don't think he did. He just went, ‘well, we need that bit more when comparing Germany to other nations that got further in the Euros and in the World Cup’.

“So, so far, he talks a good game. The feedback's been good from the Bundesliga clubs. He's gone to plenty of games in pre-season and in the club games. So it looks great on paper.

“But I fully imagine Germany is going to be a lot better in the upcoming tournaments than they have been in the past. Not to say that they're going to win it. I think even themselves said, ‘listen, we're going to try and win it, of course, that's the aim, but there's France, there's England, there's Brazil, there's Argentina, there's some proper other football nations out there, but we're going to get out there and certainly leave everything on a pitch’.

“That hasn’t been the case in Germany’s situation over the last few years. So I'm excited. Come on, Germany!

“We've been sh*t since 2014 so a semi-final would be all right. But if Germany can replicate any kind of Liverpool's and Dortmund's intensity, pace, energy, spirit, I'm getting excited! I know it's difficult to replicate it in the national team, but if they can do it, if you can do it, that would be heavy metal football!”

Klopp’s reign is set to open on Thursday when taking in a UEFA Nations League clash with the Netherlands at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam. His first home game will follow on Sunday when playing host to Greece at Augsburg’s WWK Arena.

Qualification for Euro 2028 will get underway in March 2027, with a quarter-final run at that competition on home soil in 2024 the best result that Germany have managed across their last five major tournament appearances.