"This is not a done deal yet," said DFB vice-president Hans-Joachim Watzke on Sunday. That caveat matters, because the noise around Jurgen Klopp becoming Germany's next head coach has been deafening — and noise has a way of outrunning reality in football.
Klopp will meet German Football Association officials in New York this weekend to continue negotiations. He's already signalled he wants the job. Pep Lijnders, his former Liverpool assistant who later worked under Guardiola at Manchester City, has provisionally agreed to join as No. 2. The structure is essentially in place. What remains is the paperwork — and one awkward conversation with Red Bull.
The Red Bull problem
Klopp currently works as Global Head of Soccer for Red Bull, which means the DFB needs to agree a compensation package with CEO Oliver Mintzlaff before anything is official. Watzke was careful to frame this as a hurdle, not a wall — and he went a step further, appealing directly to Klopp's sense of national identity.
"I expect a slight 'patriotism discount' from Jurgen in particular. I know that he loves Germany." That's a fairly transparent negotiating position made public, but it tells you everything about where the DFB stands financially versus where Klopp stands contractually.
The expectation in most quarters is that a resolution gets found. Watzke himself put the probability above 50 per cent, which in diplomatic terms is practically a handshake.
This is bigger than a coaching appointment
Germany crashed out of this World Cup in the last 32, eliminated by Paraguay, and the scale of the reckoning has been uncomfortable. Klopp isn't just being hired to pick a starting eleven — the role being discussed involves authority over technical direction, playing philosophy, and talent development. That's why defining the job in contractual terms is taking time.
Klopp said during his punditry work at the tournament that German football needs "fundamental change." He clearly understands what he'd be walking into. Whether that understanding translates into a signed contract hinges on what Red Bull will accept and how much Klopp's patriotism discount actually amounts to.
If this gets done, Germany's odds of returning to World Cup contention will look very different. If it falls through, the DFB has no obvious Plan B — Watzke confirmed Klopp is Plan A, full stop.
