Klopp confirms Germany talks and says he's 'recharged' since leaving Liverpool

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Klopp confirms Germany talks and says he's 'recharged' since leaving Liverpool

2026-07-04 14:54 Last Updated At：15:00

Jürgen Klopp has confirmed he's in negotiations to take over as Germany coach and says he's “recharged” the energy he was missing when he left Liverpool.

Klopp is the German soccer federation's preferred candidate after Julian Nagelsmann resigned Friday, four days after Germany lost on penalties to Paraguay in the World Cup round of 32.

“Julian has stepped down and the (federation) is working on the succession and has approached me in the course of those considerations,” said Klopp, speaking from New York on German broadcaster Magenta TV in his role as a World Cup commentator late Friday.

Klopp was the only coach named in a federation statement on the team's future, which said Klopp had “signaled his willingness” to take over.

Klopp said talks would take time because of his current contract as head of global soccer for Red Bull's network of clubs.

Klopp hasn't coached since he left Liverpool in 2024, saying at the time he was “running out of energy” after eight years with the club where he won the Premier League and Champions League.

“About two years ago I stopped at Liverpool and said that I lacked the energy for another job or for another year with Liverpool. Since then I'm more than recharged, I'm ready,” he said.

Germany's next coach will need to make sweeping changes and he said he would need “intensive talks” with the federation to agree on the key points of how to transform the team's fortunes.

It was the third men's World Cup in a row that Germany has not reached the round of 16. Germany hasn't won a knockout game since beating Argentina in the 2014 final.

Klopp said Nagelsmann was an “excellent coach” and not to blame for the team's deeper problems.

“German soccer is obviously at a turning point now,” Klopp said. “Now we need to change things fundamentally. Whether that's me in the end or whoever it may be, that doesn't change the fact that changes are necessary.”

Klopp has had a high-profile presence as a pundit on German TV at the World Cup, even taking part in postgame interviews with Nagelsmann at the side of the field. In the immediate aftermath of the Paraguay loss, he said he hadn't thought about taking on the Germany job.

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Iran begins dayslong funeral for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed in war

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran began a dayslong funeral Saturday for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, months after an airstrike killed him at the start of the war. He was 86.

Authorities unveiled the casket containing Khamenei’s body in a glass case at the Grand Mosalla in Tehran, Iran’s capital. Mourners wept at the sight, with some chanting: “Our word is one! Revenge! Revenge!”

Some carried banners and flags, while billboards across the city bore Khamenei’s image. Crowds of men rhythmically beat their chests in mourning, a common practice at Shiite funerals.

“I am here to say goodbye to my beloved leader Ali Khamenei,” said a weeping Hananeh Mousavi, 27, who attended the funeral alongside her mother. “I never expected to see such a day. I wish I had died before this tragedy."

An outdoor stage set up at the Grand Mosalla resembled the stage where Khamenei once gave his speeches at a husseiniyah at his compound in downtown Tehran. That site was destroyed in the Israeli airstrike that killed Khamenei and some of his family at the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28. The caskets of his dead family members sat beneath his, which had his black turban atop it, identifying him as a direct descendent of the Prophet Muhammad.

Iran’s government expects to see millions flood the streets of the capital in scenes reminiscent of the burial of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989. Organizers sprayed water on the crowds and offered cold drinks to help those with the summertime heat.

“We attended the funeral to show that we are all committed to defend our country and religion,” said Ali Kazemi, who came from the northwestern city of Tabriz, some 530 kilometers (330 miles) away from Tehran.

A large turnout could provide a boost for Iran’s government, particularly as it tries to leverage its hold on the Strait of Hormuz in negotiations with the United States over a permanent end to the war, and as concern still lingers that Israel could attack yet again.

Iran chose July 4, the 250th anniversary of the creation of the U.S., to begin the funeral. While authorities did not acknowledge the timing, crowds at the ceremony in Tehran chanted: “Death to America!” — reprising a cry that's been common in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and U.S. Embassy takeover and hostage crisis.

“We knocked the hell out of Iran,” U.S. President Donald Trump said in a speech at the same time in South Dakota in front of Mount Rushmore. “They want to settle so badly. We gave them a week off for a funeral.”

The American president was not forgotten in Tehran. In the crowd in Grand Mosalla, several mourners held a large flag that read: “#KillTrump.”

Khamenei’s body will be transported to cities in both Iran and neighboring Iraq. Authorities have shut down streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran for the mourning.

It remains unclear whether Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, will appear at his father’s funeral. The late supreme leader appeared in 1989 at Khomeini’s funeral, weeping visibly, as he began his journey to lead Iran for decades with an iron fist while confronting the West. Mojtaba Khamenei's late wife was one of the dead on display at the Grand Mosalla.

Israel’s repeated threats to kill Mojtaba Khamenei drew a warning from Iran’s joint military command Thursday, which told Israel and the U.S. “to avoid any miscalculation” over the coming days.

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.