New Germany manager Jurgen Klopp is assembling his coaching set-up at Die Mannschaft.
The legendary Liverpool boss was appointed as head coach of his country, following the Germans' devastating defeat to Paraguay in the last-32 stage of World Cup 2026.
With Klopp leaving his role at the Red Bull group to enter international football for the very first time, the 59-year-old is set to appoint a couple of former friends for the task, as attentions turn to Euro 2028.
Jurgen Klopp to welcome familiar face to his Germany coaching team
Ahead of his official unveiling as Julian Nagelsmann's replacement, The Mirror have relayed information from Sky Germany that Klopp is set to appoint Pep Lijnders to his coaching team.
Lijnders famously worked with Klopp at Liverpool, helping to bring the Premier League back to Anfield for the first time in 30 years and winning a sixth Champions League title – but made the somewhat eyebrow-raising move of crossing the divide and joining Manchester City last summer.
Having left Merseyside at the same time as the German, Lijnders took charge of Red Bull Salzburg in 2024, with his tenure lasting just 29 matches and Die Roten Bullen's 10-year streak as Austrian Bundesliga champions ending after his appointment.
The Dutchman returned to football in 2025 to join Pep Guardiola's City coaching staff, facing questions about Klopp's opinion on the move – though his former manager ultimately told him, “If you don’t do it, I will take the job.”
“The moment Pep called, and the feeling he gave me about what he wanted to do with the team by bringing me in, the trust he already had before we discussed how it would look, that made the decision much easier,” Lijnders said of his conversation with Guardiola.
“But you cannot put away 10 years of Liverpool that easily.“
Lijnders is not the only former Liverpool coach set to be appointed to Klopp's team, with Peter Krawietz expected to take a role in Die Mannschaft's set-up, too.
World Cup 2026's disaster means that Germany have failed to win a knockout game at the competition since they lifted the trophy in Rio De Janeiero for the fourth time in 2014.
Nagelsmann replaced Hansi Flick for Euro 2024 on home soil, with his 26-man squad ultimately eliminated by eventual champions Spain in the quarter-finals, while the previous Euros saw long-serving Joachim Low bow out a round earlier at the hands of Gareth Southgate's England.
After exiting the World Cup, Nagelsmann resigned from his role, pre-empting a potential sacking.
