Two and a half years ago, everyone connected with Liverpool was rocked by the news that Jürgen Klopp was stepping down as manager, stating that he was "running out of energy".
While the 59-year-old was widely expected to step away from club management for good, taking charge of the German national team was the one job he simply could not turn down
All throughout the World Cup, as Germany struggled, eventually dumped out on penalties by Paraguay in the round of 32, Klopp was in attendance at every game working as a pundit for MagentaTV.
"Following the sack of the increasingly unpopular Julian Nagelsmann, it became football's worst-kept secret that the DFB had set their sights on appointing Klopp.
He was unveiled in Frankfurt on Friday and was clearly delighted:
"It’s a great honour for me to be sitting here today. This is ideally the high point of my career, of my life, my professional life. I will give it everything I have. The national team brings us Germans together like almost nothing else can. That’s what makes this task so special for me. "
Meanwhile, DFB President Bernd Neuendorf essentially confirmed that no other candidates were even seriously considered, stating that Klopp "was our ideal solution from the start. We at the DFB were unanimous in saying he was the candidate we had to talk to. Our talks with Jürgen only strengthened our belief that he’s the right man at the right time".
He steps into the role with the national side at a startling low point. Germany were a powerhouse between 2006 and 2016, reaching the semi-finals of six straight major tournaments and lifting the World Cup in 2014.
Yet that golden era feels distant now, with the team winning just a single knockout tie across their last five tournaments culminating in last month’s embarrassing defeat to Paraguay in Foxborough.
Well, first up for Klopp is a UEFA Nations League campaign in the autumn.
Germany's UEFA Nations League fixtures
- Thursday 24 September. Netherlands - Johan Cruijff Arena, Amsterdam. Kick off 7:45pm.
- Sunday 27 September. Greece - WWK Arena, Augsburg. Kick off 7:45pm.
- Thursday 1 October. Serbia - Allianz Arena, Munich. Kick off 7:45pm.
- Sunday 4 October. Greece - Toumba Stadium, Thessaloniki. Kick off 7:45pm.
- Friday 13 November. Serbia - Stadion Rajko Mitić, Belgrade. Kick off 7:45pm.
- Monday 16 November. Netherlands - Olympiastadion, Berlin. Kick off 7:45pm.
An away game in Amsterdam against historic rivals Netherlands is an explosive way to start, while Klopp will oversee the new four-game international window in late-September and early-October, giving him an extended period to work with his new players, including Liverpool's own Florian Wirtz.
In UEFA Nations League A, the top two teams in each group advance to the quarter-finals, which should be a more than realistic aim for Germany meaning, by next June, who knows, Klopp could have a trophy in his hands.
Nevertheless, die Mannschaft's main focus, of course, is on the next European Championships in the United Kingdom. The last time England hosted the Euros in '96, it was the Germans who hoisted aloft the Henri Delaunay Trophy at Wembley, so what chance of that happening again? Well, if anyone can turn this struggling national team around, it is surely the self proclaimed "normal one".
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