“A worse result could not have happened”: one thing in particular surprises Stefan Effenberg about Jürgen Klopp | Goal.com

Veröffentlicht am 28 Sep 2026 | Lesezeit: 3 Minuten

In his column for t-online, Effenberg wrote that the bitter 0-1 defeat on Sunday evening against the European champions of 2004 could hardly have come at a worse time.

"I can't avoid putting it this clearly: A worse result could not have happened to new Germany head coach Jürgen Klopp so early in his tenure. But not only that: A worse result could also not have happened to football Germany and the euphoria that was sparked by Klopp's appointment," said the former Bundesliga professional.

Klopp's appointment as the new DFB coach had sparked huge euphoria and anticipation across the country ahead of the first Nations League matches. "Exactly what I warned about in my last column after the squad nomination has happened: a very severe dampener for the enthusiasm around the Germany team that had only just been rekindled," Effenberg wrote.

Now, in his view, they had definitively arrived in reality: "Germany are no longer a top nation, but merely followers in world football. No one can deny or sugar-coat that any longer."

Most of all, Effenberg was astonished by the way Germany approached the duel with Greece. "That the Greeks would sit deep was no surprise; we've known them for more than 20 years. That's how they became European champions in 2004 under Otto Rehhagel. Both the Germany team and Klopp and his coaching staff must reproach themselves for not having a recipe against this long-familiar style of play and not finding a solution," wrote the 58-year-old.

Nor was it only the display against the Greeks that fell short. Germany had not played well against the Netherlands either and only came away with a 1-1 draw thanks to a great deal of good fortune. "Even the first game against the Netherlands could have been lost. The Germany team's display was good, but not outstanding," Effenberg said.

From his point of view, they could be "ultimately happy, because the 1-1 flatters us more than it does the Netherlands. Marc-Andre ter Stegen - despite some uncertainties - made several brilliant saves; otherwise even that match could have ended badly for the DFB team. Instead, the inevitable happened three days later."

Even so, Effenberg said Klopp needed more time to settle on his first-choice XI and fine-tune the tactical details. "Of course, both Klopp and the players must be given some time to find one another. This 'process' will be difficult enough."

Still, the latest performances had not shown the progress he wanted to see. "That has to be worrying - despite all the long-term perspective," said Effenberg, who ended with an appeal to Klopp: "The public forgive him more than other coaches. But they also place greater expectations on him than on other coaches. That is why he now has to be careful: if there is still no improvement in the next matches, the tone towards him will quickly become harsher too. He has to be prepared for that."

Germany are currently third in Group 2 of Nations League A with one point from two games, behind Greece on six points and the Netherlands on four. Serbia are the next opponents for the DFB team on Thursday.

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