Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp has reportedly been identified as the ideal candidate to replace Hansi Flick as manager of the Germany national team.
The four-time World Cup winners decided to relieve Flick of his duties on Sunday less than 24 hours after their heavy 4-1 friendly defeat to Japan on Saturday.
Flick won just four of his last 17 international matches in charge of Die Mannschaft across all competitions, and leaves Germany searching for a new boss just nine months before they host Euro 2024.
Rudi Voller has been placed in temporary charge for Tuesday's friendly clash with France in Dortmund as the DFB begins its hunt to appoint a new head coach.
According to journalist and former Norwegian footballer Jan Aage Fjortoft, Germany consider Liverpool's Klopp as their 'dream' candidate to replace Flick.
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Fjortoft suggests that the German FA could allow Klopp to continue working at Liverpool while also taking the reins of the national team at the same time.
Nevertheless, Fjortoft believes that Klopp would most likely turn down such an offer, while The Mirror claims that the 56-year-old is considered 'unattainable in the short term'.
Since joining Liverpool in October 2015, Klopp has won 268 of his 435 matches in charge across all competitions, and has lifted seven trophies including the Premier League and Champions League.
Earlier this year, Klopp's agent Mark Kosicke played down suggestions that the Stuttgart-born boss – who is under contract at Anfield until June 2026 – would consider swapping his Liverpool post for the Germany job.
Klopp is not the only name on Germany's radar, though, as The Mirror reports that as many as seven other coaches have been added to a managerial shortlist that also includes Julian Nagelsmann and ex-Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal.
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Nagelsmann is currently out of work after being sacked by Bayern Munich in March, and the 36-year-old – who was linked with both Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur over the summer – is said to be one of the current frontrunners for the Germany vacancy along with 72-year-old Van Gaal.
While Nagelsmann is yet to manage on the international stage, Van Gaal has taken charge of the Netherlands on three separate occasions, most recently between August 2021 and December 2022 with his final game in charge a penalty-shootout loss to eventual World Cup winners Argentina.
Van Gaal, who has been battling prostate cancer, recently acknowledged that he would be open to a return to international management, saying: "I don't normally train at a club anymore, but a promising country still has a chance to convince me!"
Interim boss Voller – who was Bayer Leverkusen's sporting director for 17 years before taking up a similar role with Germany earlier this year – is regarded as an outsider but could be considered as a short-term appointment, while another surprise candidate is Matthias Sammer who has been out of work since leaving Stuttgart back in 2005.
Ralf Rangnick is also said to be on the shortlist but he recently committed his future to the Austria national team, while Austrian-born Oliver Glasner – a free agent who led Eintracht Frankfurt to Europa League glory in 2022 – and Bayer Leverkusen's Xabi Alonso are also in the frame for the Germany job.
Oliver Thomas
