USA supporters can let their minds wander, safe in the knowledge that we have been here before. Jurgen Klopp has gone back on his word in the past. More than once, in fact. No wonder DailyMail.com columnist Tim Howard is confident he would do it again.
After the USMNT crashed out of Copa America, the legendary goalkeeper has vowed to fly to Spain himself to make the pitch for Klopp to take over. A pipe dream? That’s what the cynics will say. Recent history paints a different picture.
Back in April 2015, Klopp announced that, after seven years in charge of Borussia Dortmund, he was leaving the club. The German initially denied that his tank was empty. He ruled out taking a sabbatical. By June, however, his tune had changed.
‘It makes sense to take time to take stock of the countless memories before me and my fellow coaching team embrace a new challenge, fresh and highly motivated,’ Klopp said following his final game in charge. For ‘the time being’ he would unwind and recharge.
Four months later, Klopp was sitting in the Anfield dugout. He wouldn’t allow himself another chance to rest for nearly nine years. Until this summer, when Klopp left Liverpool a greater, grayer manager. His energy levels depleted.
Jurgen Klopp is enjoying a break in Spain after leaving Liverpool at the end of last season
The German wanted a sabbatical after leaving Borussia Dortmund but changed his mind
DailyMail.com columnist Tim Howard
Klopp, who recently turned 47, has a $4.3million villa in Majorca. He had dreamed of having a place there all his life; his plan is to create ‘an ecological family paradise’.
He enjoys the weather, the people, the padel. He and his wife Ulla are honorary members of their local country club alongside the likes of Novak Djokovic. Where better to retire after one of the finest managerial careers of recent times?
‘It’s out of the question that I’ll stop working altogether,’ the German said recently. ‘But I don’t see myself continuing at the same pace as before at the moment.’
So the door is ajar and Howard fancies his powers of persuasion. The stakes could hardly be higher: two years out from the 2026 World Cup, a pivotal moment for the game on these shores, US Soccer is in turmoil.
Defeat by Uruguay saw the team exit a home Copa America at the first hurdle. Supporters are calling for head coach Gregg Berhalter to be fired; US Soccer is at a crossroads.
Gregg Berhalter is facing calls to go after the USMNT crashed out of Copa America on Monday
Klopp, now 57, has bought a $4.3million villa in Majorca where he has been winding down
‘They have to go for the jackpot,’ Howard said. ‘You need someone with high expectations, a clear vision and a clear path. Someone who is demanding of themselves as well as their team. Someone like Jurgen Klopp.’
The upside for the US is obvious. The more pressing question is whether Klopp would want the job. ‘If we sat around his villa in Spain, I think I could lure him over here. 100 percent,’ Howard insisted.
You can understand his confidence. There are several reasons why Klopp and the USA would appear to be a perfect fit. Both on and off the field.
First, the finances. At Liverpool, Klopp was one of the world’s best-paid managers, raking in an estimated $22million a year by the end of his Anfield tenure. That’s before the $28million he is said to make through commercial deals.
It’s a package that will price him out of most jobs. Including, it would seem, the Germany national team. ‘The DFB can’t pay Jurgen Klopp at all,’ German football chief Ralph-Uwe Schaffert said recently.
But Howard is certain that won’t be an issue over here. Money rarely is in US sports. Only last year, Inter Miami, Adidas, Apple and MLS pulled strings to bring Lionel Messi to America.
Klopp recently took to Instagram to reveal he has been playing padel while on vacation
US Soccer has just built a new $200m training center. In 2022, Berhalter made $2,291,136 – including $900,000 in bonuses after leading the US to the knockout stages of the Qatar World Cup.
Pocket change compared to Klopp, perhaps. But not bad for international football. Gareth Southgate is thought to be the highest earner at Euro 2024, with the England manager said to make around $5m a year.
Klopp won’t make the sort of money he earned at Liverpool. But he wouldn’t have to work as hard either. International management involves far, far fewer days on the training pitch. It does not put coaches through the week-to-week grind of life in the Premier League. It wouldn’t require Klopp to work at that ‘same pace as before’.
Life in the United States would, however, introduce Klopp to a commercial market with an insatiable appetite – and virtually unlimited budget – for personalities.
There are few foreign coaches who are as comfortable and charismatic in front of the cameras as Klopp. The cackle. The Colgate smile. The charm. The sense of humor and the sense that Klopp remains in touch with the common man.
There were no few tantrums but, time and again at Liverpool, the German won hearts and minds with his openness, his insight, his considered input into difficult conversations. Even his interviews with young Scousers.
Klopp has proven himself to be both charming and charismatic in front of the cameras
The German developed a close relationship with both players and fans while at Liverpool
Berhalter has carried himself with dignity and his achievements on the field should not be ignored. But he possesses none of the star power of a coach like Klopp.
Klopp has even embraced social media in recent weeks, starting an Instagram account and peeling back the curtain on his new life – playing padel and catching up old friends including Boris Becker.
At this crucial juncture for US Soccer, its hard to think of a manager better suited to shouldering the expectation and attention that would come with leading the team into a home World Cup. A tournament that will break all records. Klopp would be welcomed like a coming savior. He could make himself a God. The rewards would be immense. The risk to his legacy? Negligible, really.
Fortunately Klopp knows what he is doing, too. Few teams over the last decade had such consistent success as his Liverpool team. Even fewer played with such fearlessness and dizzying intensity.
Klopp wouldn’t have long – or many opportunities – to apply those principles to a new team. He wouldn’t have his trusted right-hand man, Pep Lijnders, either – the Dutchman recently became a head coach at RB Salzburg.
Fortunately, this is a young, ‘golden generation’ of US players who would be easier to mold into Klopp’s system than their predecessors. Many of this group are technically gifted and already playing in Europe’s top leagues.
The German manager has previously heaped praise on United States star Christian Pulisic
Klopp’s wife Ulla has reportedly been overseeing the renovation of the couple’s villa
At their best under the German, Liverpool had full-backs blessed with creativity, tireless midfielders and a front three who combined at devastating speed.
He heaped praise on Christian Pulisic not long ago, having worked with the then-teenager at Dortmund. In Flo Balogun, meanwhile, the US have a raw No 9 of immense talent.
Midfielders don’t come much more diligent and willing than Tyler Adams, who anchors a well-balanced trio alongside Weston McKennie and Gio Reyna.
At full back, meanwhile, Antonee Robinson was linked with Liverpool during Klopp’s reign. Both he and Sergino Dest offer pace and attacking thrust.
On the evidence of this summer, the US still face an uphill task to go deep into the World Cup. They went out of Copa America with barely a whimper.
A coach like Klopp would ensure nothing was left to chance. For many Liverpool fans, the joy of his reign came not only from the cups they won but the thrill of the journey.
The USMNT’s trip to Qatar sparked a scandal involving Berhalter and Reyna. Klopp engenders fierce buy-in from players and fans. He could not guarantee success in two years’ time. He wouldn’t get blame if the USMNT failed. All that is for certain: it would be one hell of a ride.
