Jürgen Klopp has announced on Instagram that he will return as a TV pundit for the first time in over 15 years.
Klopp will work as a TV expert for the paid channel during the tournament next summer. He will be joined by Thomas Müller, who was also announced as a pundit for the World Cup earlier this season.
In an interview with kicker, Telekom CEO Rodrigo Diehl said:
“We’re not just planning, we’re also making signings. Alongside Thomas Müller, Jürgen Klopp is also part of our expert team. He embodies pure football and is a world-class coach who has written incredible success stories with Dortmund and Liverpool. With him and Thomas Müller, we already have two top experts on board.”
On if the former head coach and Thomas Müller will work together, the CEO said:
“That depends heavily on the draw on December 5th in Washington. Afterwards, we’ll determine who will be on duty when and where. We want to assemble a team of experts that’s a good fit for this marathon tournament. And if Thomas Müller and Jürgen Klopp do indeed appear together on camera, all of football-mad Germany will be listening very closely.”
Since leaving his role as Liverpool manager in 2022, Klopp has worked as the Global Head of Soccer from Red Bull, and moving to TV could be his new calling if he has no desire to return to coaching in the future.
Klopp’s previous TV role:
20 years ago, before he became a household name in Germany, the then Mainz head coach worked as a pundit for German public broadcaster ZDF at the 2006 World Cup.
During his foray on TV, Klopp played a role in revolutionising how football was analysed on TV. Via Welt, the head coach would use a screen to analyse match scenarios and point out errors.
The work and program for ZDF during Germany’s ‘Sommermarchen’ won a Deutsch Fernsehpreis in 2006.
The future Borussia Dortmund head coach then held similar roles for the 2008 Euros with the public broadcaster as well as with RTL for the 2010 World Cup.
GGFN | Jack Meenan
