20 February 2024 , 12:53
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Former Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack has backed departing Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp for the Germany job.
Klopp announced last month that he'll be leaving Anfield at the end of this season, hoping to walk off into the sunset before a year-long sabbatical. Speculation is already brewing about his next job, though, and Ballack hopes that the ex- Borussia Dortmund and Mainz manager can return to his homeland to take charge of their national team.
That's despite Julian Nagelsmann only getting the job last September, with Germany - who'd approached Klopp before appointing the ex- Bayern Munich boss - going through their worst run of form for decades. They'll host Euro 2024 this summer with Nagelsmann at the helm, although Ballack could see Klopp being in charge for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Speaking on Jeff Stelling's podcast, Football's Greatest, the former Chelsea playmaker said: "Of course, in a normal career, one day he would become manager of the German national team, everyone is looking for that. He did a great job, he built something really special with his club.
"He's now in that position he can make his own decision, he can build his own career. He could train every club in the world, every club would be happy to have him.
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"But he's a guy who loves consistency and he has values. He has this calmness to not make quick decisions, he can take 10 times longer to pick his move, especially from such a good environment that he has built himself.
"But we would love it one day because he has this quality, he has this character to symbolise all German attitudes. We need a leader like him. Whenever he's ready I think the people and the fans would love it."
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Germany find themselves in a rut ahead of hosting Euro 2024 (Guenther Iby/SEPA.Media /Getty Images)Klopp's reason for turning down an approach from German football chiefs last autumn was because he was still busy building "Liverpool 2.0." The situation has obviously changed since then, as his nine-year stint at Anfield will come to an end in May.
Speaking in July 2023, the 56-year-old remarked that it'd be "a great honour" to manage Die Mannschaft at some stage in his career. Germany will start their World Cup qualifying campaign next March, nine months after Klopp's emotional departure from Anfield.