Bernd Neuendorf, president of the German Football Association, and his deputy Hans-Joachim Watzke have travelled to New York to hold initial talks with Jürgen Klopp regarding the role of head coach of the national team. Klopp, the former manager of Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool, is considered the leading candidate to take charge of the German national team as successor to Julian Nagelsmann, who resigned a week ago following the side's elimination from the World Cup in the round of 32 after a defeat to Paraguay. Negotiations are expected to begin upon Neuendorf and Watzke's arrival in New York. Klopp is in the United States during the World Cup in his capacity as an analyst for Magenta TV.
Klopp has said on several occasions that he wishes to take charge of the German national team. However, a deal must be negotiated, and Klopp must be released from his contract, which runs until 2029, as head of global football operations at Red Bull, the energy drink manufacturer. German Football Association officials are expected to hold meetings in New York with Oliver Mintzlaff, chief executive of Red Bull. Reports indicate that all parties are interested in reaching a suitable solution.
The German national team's next fixtures are in the UEFA Nations League group stage, with 4 matches scheduled in late September and early October against the Netherlands, Serbia, and 2 games against Greece.
Theo Zwanziger, former president of the German Football Association, said the association must insist on a strict separation between itself and Red Bull should Jürgen Klopp be appointed as national team head coach.
Speculation is circulating that Klopp could continue in his role as a Red Bull brand ambassador even after taking charge of the national team. In that case, the German Football Association would not be required to pay a fee to terminate his contract and would only be responsible for his salary.
Zwanziger, who led the German Football Association between 2006 and 2012, warned in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung that such an arrangement could lead to a conflict of loyalties for Klopp.
"On the one hand, Red Bull wants to generate profits through him, and on the other hand, as national team coach he is expected to achieve the best possible results for German football. If that turns out to be true — though I still find it hard to believe — it would be completely unacceptable," he said. Zwanziger added that he is aware that Red Bull invests large sums of money in sport, but that it simultaneously "seeks to gain influence within the sporting world."
He stressed that the national team head coach "represents the second most important position in German football after the president of the association, and may in fact be the most important of all." He said: "National team coaches have always been salaried, and there has always been sponsorship funding from the German Football Association's partners, but there must be harmony between the association's sponsors and the sponsors of the national team head coach."