Jürgen Klopp was never merely a successful coach at his previous stops. His name has always meant revival for the teams he took charge of, to the point where fans came to see him as the "saviour" capable of working miracles.
Now the German finds himself facing the biggest challenge of his career. His task: rebuilding a Germany side going through one of the most difficult periods in its history, amid hopes just as great as the doubts and criticism.
A few weeks ago, Klopp watched from pitchside as a television pundit while Germany crashed out of the World Cup, beaten on penalties by Paraguay in a stunning upset.
That defeat cost head coach Julian Nagelsmann his job and plunged German football into fresh crisis. The German Football Association moved quickly to find the man it saw as best suited to put the team back on track.
Just three weeks later, the association named Klopp as head coach on a contract running until 2030, tasking him with leading the team at Euro 2028 and the 2030 World Cup.
His first match in charge comes against the Netherlands on 24 September.
Klopp said after his appointment: "The national team is capable of uniting Germans in a way that many other things cannot, and that is what makes this task so special to me."
An exceptional record gives the fans hope
At 59, Klopp is one of the greatest German coaches of the modern era. He won the Champions League and the Premier League with Liverpool, and claimed the German league title twice with Borussia Dortmund.
Little wonder, then, that many see him as the right man to restore Germany to its natural standing after the aura slipped away in recent years.
Bernd Neuendorf, president of the German Football Association, confirmed Klopp was the first choice from the moment Nagelsmann resigned.
He said: "Jürgen embodies passion, credibility and the ability to inspire people. After Julian Nagelsmann's resignation, we had no better option than him, and so we worked with all our might to complete the deal for him."
Klopp will also lean on two of his most prominent former Liverpool assistants, Pep Lijnders and Peter Krawietz, in a bid to repeat the successes the trio achieved in the Premier League.
Wide public confidence
The circumstances may be difficult, but Klopp enjoys considerable public support. An opinion poll by German magazine "Kicker" found around 80% of participants viewed him as the ideal choice to lead the national team.
Many believe Germany have lacked strong character and a winning mentality over the past years. Those are exactly the qualities that have followed Klopp throughout his coaching career, especially after he coined the term "mentality monsters" to describe his Liverpool players.
Former Germany star Stefan Effenberg reckons Klopp can give the national team "a new spirit of optimism".
Carsten Cramer, chief executive of Borussia Dortmund, agrees the impact could go beyond the technical side.
He told "Kicker" magazine: "I believe he embodies many of the qualities that German football, and indeed German society too, currently lacks."
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But not everyone supports Klopp
For all the optimism, Klopp's appointment did not command unanimity in Germany. He has faced widespread criticism since joining the "Red Bull" group in 2024 as head of global football, a move many fans saw as a betrayal of German football's traditional principles.
"Red Bull" draws constant fire over its multi-club ownership model, along with accusations of circumventing the "50+1" rule that hands supporters of German clubs the right to control their clubs' decisions.
Anger boiled over last July after reports suggested Klopp might carry on as an ambassador for "Red Bull" even after taking over the national team.
Theo Zwanziger, the former president of the German Football Association, told the newspaper "Frankfurter Allgemeine": "This is completely unacceptable. Red Bull is seeking to control the centres of power in football."
Fans' association "Unsere Kurve" also voiced its rejection, arguing the German Football Association should not bend to the influence of money.
The association's spokesman, Thomas Kessen, said: "Before we describe Klopp as the saviour, we must remember the amount of public goodwill he has lost, especially among Borussia Dortmund fans."
Criticism of the appointment process
The criticism did not stop at Klopp's Red Bull ties. It extended to the way the German Football Association handled the choice of coach.
Bastian Schweinsteiger, the 2014 world champion, was surprised by the speed of the deal, questioning whether the association had weighed up any other options.
He said: "It is natural for Klopp to be the first choice, but when you see the association's delegation travelling straight to New York to complete the agreement, it looks hasty. Everyone has the right to ask: were there any alternatives in the first place?"
He added that Klopp could become nothing more than a "temporary solution", because the crisis engulfing German football is too big for one coach to fix, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation "BBC".
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The crisis is deeper than a change of coach
Germany are living through their worst spell in decades, failing to reach the round of 16 in each of the last three World Cups.
Plenty of voices inside the country believe the crisis runs through the entire football system, not just the coaching staff.
Klopp shares that view. He told the channel "Magenta TV": "I have said repeatedly that the issue is not about the coach alone."
He added: "German football stands at a crossroads, and there are many things that must change."
The start, and the real test
Klopp officially begins the job next September, leading Germany against the Netherlands in the UEFA Nations League.
The real test, though, arrives two years later at Euro 2028, hosted by the United Kingdom and Ireland.
That tournament could carry a special meaning. Klopp may return to Liverpool, the city where he built his historic glories, if Germany play one of their matches at Everton's new "Hill Dickinson" stadium, though Anfield is not among the host venues.
Only then will we know. Can the man who dragged Liverpool back onto the winners' podiums repeat the miracle with Germany? Or is the crisis around "Die Mannschaft" simply too deep for any coach to solve, however great his standing?