Jürgen Klopp's opening monologue at his unveiling as the new Germany head coach on Friday lasted more than 10 minutes. He used the occasion to underline his drive and make a credible case for what the post means to him. Despite huge success with Mainz 05, Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool, Klopp even called it the "high point of my life".
He also used the monologue to cast himself, with a degree of self-aggrandisement, yes, that is possible despite his incredible CV, as something of a gift to German football and the journalists in the room. "I'm not doing this for myself, but for you," Klopp said, repeating the message several times in different forms while also exposing his flawed understanding of the media.
Turning to the journalists, Klopp said: "On this path, which ideally we will all embark on together, we will need you too. That's why we are here today and have the opportunity to commit ourselves to a shared path." But it is not the job of independent media to be part of a "shared path" with the subject of their reporting. Their role is to follow it critically from the outside and independently point out both positive and negative developments. In the end, coaches and players still carry primary responsibility for success.
Klopp's disconcerting criticism of the treatment of Nagelsmann
Almost patronisingly, Klopp said he had taken the job "even though I saw how you treated Julian". After the embarrassing exit at the World Cup, former Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann was indeed heavily criticised, possibly too heavily in places.
Yet Klopp's accusation is disconcerting because he was ultimately part of that "you" at the World Cup. As a TV pundit, he also criticised Nagelsmann and, even before the very first World Cup match, made his completely unnecessary "still" remark. Yes, he apologised for it. Even so, he had triggered a huge debate and made the job extremely difficult for his predecessor. How would he deal with it if someone were to torpedo the "shared path" he is now invoking in the same way?
Fundamentally, Klopp did not need to devote so much of his first press conference to criticising the media and in the process even threatened to resign. That was especially true with DFB vice-president Hans-Joachim Watzke striking a similar tone in his brief opening statement. It almost felt as though the reporting had been identified as one reason for the latest World Cup failure. A little more humility about the current state of German football would have been appropriate.
Getty ImagesJürgen Klopp calls for time - and has big visions
Klopp's determination to improve that situation is obvious. He is fervently hoping the national team will once again attract more attention between tournaments than they have in recent years. Time and again in his long monologues, he moved from football to society in general, and at one stage he even ended up talking about Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Klopp's grand vision is to use his role as Germany head coach to unite a nation divided in many respects: "Successful football can change a country."
For that mission, he has initially signed a contract until the 2030 World Cup. Assessing his own work, Klopp asked for patience and said: "The funny thing about modern times is that nobody gives anyone or anything time anymore except themselves." That remark about time is interesting in light of his now-ended role at Red Bull. According to reports, Klopp of all people was ultimately a driving force behind the early split from coach Ole Werner despite Champions League qualification having been achieved and a successful rebuild after the departures of all the key players.
As expected, Klopp gave hardly any insight into his specific plans for the national team of the future. He left open, for example, where he intends to use Joshua Kimmich. Klopp revealed only that he wants them to play with a back four and wingers, and without man-marking. He said he had already drawn up a list of 57 interesting outfield players.
Jürgen Klopp: more power than any previous Germany head coach
Unlike his team, his coaching staff are set. Sven Bender is a sensible addition, a new Sandro Wagner-type figure alongside his two long-serving assistants Peter Krawietz and Pepijn Lijnders. The role of his long-time close associate Marc Kosicke looks particularly interesting, "my assistant coach for strategy, development and innovation". Kosicke will not be employed by the DFB, but is to have access to everything.
That personnel decision also underlines the level of power Klopp has at the DFB, unlike any Germany head coach before him. He arrives as the clearly desired candidate of the committees and the fans, armed with huge achievements from all of his previous coaching jobs and plenty of self-confidence. The association itself, meanwhile, is weaker than it has rarely been before after the latest World Cup debacle.
On the one hand, that is an opportunity because great power automatically brings huge scope to shape things, and Klopp stands for success like hardly any other coach. On the other, it is also a danger because dissent may disappear and the DFB could slide into a one-man show. The press conference offered a glimpse of that. Exactly one question was not put directly to Klopp, but to the DFB officials Bernd Neuendorf and Watzke, who were also present. It concerned Kosicke's role. Klopp simply cut in and first wanted to give his own view before Neuendorf eventually got to speak.