Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Uli Hoeness has urged Germany fans to temper their expectations of Jurgen Klopp, as the head coach is not “the messiah”.
Klopp was appointed on a four-year deal as Germany boss following Julian Nagelsmann’s departure after the 2026 World Cup, where they were knocked out in the round of 32 by Paraguay.
It is Klopp’s first coaching role in two years, since he called time on his Liverpool tenure.
His 431 games in charge of Liverpool are the third-most by a manager in the club’s history, while he has won the seventh-most points amongst Premier League managers in history (705), but boasts the third-best points-per-game average (2.11).
Klopp also led Liverpool to their first Premier League title and ended their 14-year-wait to win the Champions League, with many seeing him as one of the best coaches in the world.
While Hoeness believes Klopp can help Germany, he insists the former Liverpool boss needs time.
“I personally consider Jurgen Klopp a very good coach, a really very good coach. But I’m not a big fan of ‘hero worship’,” Hoeness told Sky.
“He’s already being given this status as if he can walk on water. He can’t change everything simply by laying on hands, either.
“As we know him, he will work very hard. He will also do many things differently. And a lot of things will get better. But you have to give him time, and above all, you mustn’t believe that he is the messiah.”
— DFB-Team (@DFB_Team) June 29, 2026
Germany’s round-of-32 loss to Paraguay was their first-ever penalty shoot-out defeat at the World Cup.
Prior to the tournament, 31 places separated Germany (10th) and Paraguay (41st) in the FIFA World Rankings, the fourth-largest gap for a knockout tie where the lower-ranked side progressed since the first World Cup under the rankings system, in 1994.
Despite the criticism Nagelsmann received, Hoeness does not think all the blame should lie with the former head coach.
“I think our team’s performance was an absolute disaster. It was a disgrace for our country,” added Hoeness.
“But there are various reasons for that. Enough has already been said about Julian Nagelsmann. I don’t think he is solely to blame.
“We don’t have a team of outstanding quality, but you can still have a good World Cup. Argentina proved that. They don’t have a good team, but they threw everything into it like crazy. That’s what I felt was missing from our team.
“Before the World Cup, I said that if we don’t have a great team, then at least we need a well-drilled, settled team. And we didn’t have a settled team.”
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