Jurgen Klopp turned down the USMNT manager gig because he's Jurgen Klopp and they're U.S. Soccer
Jurgen Klopp turned down USMNT because he's way too good for them.
Jurgen Klopp may have ended his legendary tenure at Liverpool, but that doesn’t mean he’s permanently retired from coaching soccer. He even clarified as much after leaving the Mighty Reds. If anything, you can expect to see the iconic manager roaming someone else’s sideline sometime in the near future. You can’t keep brilliant tacticians and motivators from the game they love forever.
But let’s not kid ourselves.
Klopp was never, ever going to manage the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team (USMNT). For a little longer, it will have to live with its deflating failure with Gregg Berhalter and a current “Golden Generation” in the loosest sense of the phase.
On Thursday, The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported that the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) formally reached out to Klopp about taking on its fledgling men’s program. Klopp, ever the classy and charismatic man he is, politely declined the opportunity, citing that he still really wants a “break” from managing.
Jurgen Klopp has rebuffed an approach from the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) to take over as the men’s national team head coach following the dismissal of Gregg Berhalter.Initial contact was made with Klopp regarding the possibility of leading the USMNT but he reiterated that he would like a break from football, according to sources privy to the matter. Despite that, interest remains, sources add, from US Soccer in making the 57-year-old their next head coach.
Wait, the USMNT is still going after Klopp after he said no? Yikes.
OK, let’s distance ourselves from the general report for a second.
None of that revelation is surprising. At the time of publishing, Klopp has been on formal vacation for less than two months. When he said he wanted to step away for a while, that probably meant missing at least one entire Premier League or Bundesliga season, which would both end sometime next late spring. Almost anyone touching base with Klopp right now would have likely run into a brick wall that was still letting off steam from a tense, pressure-filled job.
That said, I find it hard to believe that Klopp wouldn’t have ended his self-imposed hiatus for a golden international opportunity. While none of these global soccer powers need a manager right now, in a hypothetical scenario, I find it very easy to imagine Klopp quickly signing on the dotted line for Germany, Spain, or even England. Those are attractive jobs with coherent national programs that have a solid, well-established structure and plan.
The man revitalized Borussia Dortmund and led Liverpool to its first Premier League title in three decades and its first Champions League victory in 14 years. Klopp is way overdue for a massive step up, particularly in an international context.
The USMNT does not qualify as a step up. It is a job firmly beneath Klopp and his pedigree.
Frankly, it’s practically insulting that the U.S. really thought it could lure over one of the best managers in the world — in the middle of a well-earned vacation, no less — halfway through a World Cup cycle.
That’s the other rub here. Klopp wouldn’t have been able to build his own foundation if he had taken on the USMNT gig right now. He would’ve had to salvage what was left for 2026, forced to pick up the tattered pieces of a program that flamed out in a blaze of disappointment at Copa America. Klopp is a terrific manager, arguably the best, but he’s not a miracle worker.
It would’ve been a lose-lose chance for someone who basically has an unassailable reputation.
All is not lost for the USMNT. It’s not ideal that they fired a manager less than two years before hosting the biggest tournament in men’s soccer. There is still time for a turnaround and to establish some semblance of direction. But if I were one of the leaders of the USSF, I would promptly give up this Klopp dream. It’s not worth the time or the effort.
Until further notice, he’s way too good for you.