With U.S. Soccer firing Gregg Berhalter as the coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team on Wednesday, all eyes are turning to the search for his replacement. And while some big names might be in consideration, one potential target for the USSF is seemingly out of reach: Jürgen Klopp.
Klopp emerged as a potential name to replace Berhalter before Berhalter was officially sacked. However, the former Liverpool coach has reportedly declined an offer to coach the team, per David Ornstein of The Athletic.
According to Ornstein, U.S. Soccer made initial contact with Klopp, but the 57-year-old manager politely turned down further negotiations, reiterating that he wanted to take a break from soccer. Klopp stepped down as manager of Liverpool after nine years with the team, officially leaving in May after the end of the 2024 season.
The news of Klopp’s rebuff comes a few hours after Miguel Delaney of The Independent reported that U.S. Soccer had made Klopp a top target to take over the position. Per Ornstein, the USSF is still interested in pursuing Klopp.
Klopp, who coached in Germany for nearly 15 years before joining Liverpool, had great success with the team. With Klopp as manager, Liverpool won eight major honors in nine seasons, including winning the Premier League in the 2019-2020 season, the FA Cup in the 2021-2022 season and winning the FIFA Club World Cup in 2019.
As a result, the newly-free agent Klopp quickly emerged as an attractive replacement to Berhalter, whose past few years at the helm have been disappointing for USMNT fans. On July 3, two days after the USMNT’s decisive loss to Uruguay that led the team to crash out of Copa América in the group stage, former USMNT goalkeeper Tim Howard wrote an op-ed in the Daily Mail calling for U.S. Soccer to go after Klopp.
If I was in charge of US Soccer, I would fly to Spain and pay Jurgen Klopp a visit. I believe I could convince him to take the USMNT job.
Gregg Berhalter will get the blame for this Copa America but much of the fault lies with the players.https://t.co/o7kEDkSgEW
— Tim Howard (@TimHowardGK) July 3, 2024
Although Klopp was always a longshot for the USMNT, fans have looked for signs that the German manager might have some interest in coming overseas, citing his friendship with new USWNT manager Emma Hayes and his appreciative Instagram post honoring the 4th of July last week.
With Klopp seemingly out of the running, U.S. Soccer will likely turn some attention toward other potential candidates. Some top prospects to take the helm include French women’s national team coach Hervé Renard and LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo.
