Jurgen Klopp steps up to bring Germany back into global soccer's top tier

This international break will be our first chance to find out. We'll meet Klopp's Germany on Thursday, Sept. 24 when it takes on the Netherlands in a key Nations League matchup—and there are already signs that Klopp's Germany will look nothing like any Germany we've seen before.

An innovative squad build

Klopp's first move as Germany coach was to flip the roster selection process on its head. Instead of calling up 26 players for his four upcoming matches like the rest of his European peers, Klopp called up a whopping 44—and split them intentionally into two groups. One set of players would take on the Netherlands and Greece in Germany's opening matches; the other set would take on Greece and Serbia in its closers.

"I want to get to know as many players as possible," Klopp said when asked about his approach, via ESPN.

"There is no A or B team. The squads are put together in a way that makes sense on the pitch and in terms of character and experience."

We've never quite seen a roster build like this. It's a risk, certainly, but it's one that a team in as dire straits as Germany can afford to take.

This is the first FIFA international window to feature four games instead of two. In many ways, its a mini tournament all on its own, and Klopp appears to be the first global coach to take that seriously. His oversized roster should help him evaluate more players while simultaneously protecting his key stars from being overworked.

An eye on pride

Klopp has been unequivocal about the importance of national pride in Germany's rebuild—and he's framed it in a way that is both political and emotional.

"I don’t want to leave national pride to the wrong people," he said in a news conference, via British newspaper The Times.

"I want it so that when someone waves it [the German flag], no one thinks, ‘What is wrong with you?’' Instead I want people to understand you are happy and realize how lucky you were to be born in, grow up in or move to this wonderful country."

It's a simple enough statement, but it's a revolutionary one for a European soccer leader. Most, cast somewhere between the roles of celebrity, politician and coach, steer clear of topics like patriotism out of fear of alienating parts of their national fanbase. Not Klopp.

Germany and Klopp have a massive rebuild in front of them—but one-two punches like this innovative roster and Klopp's bold reclamation of German patriotism make the task seem actionable, achievable and maybe even a little bit exciting. Say hello to the new Germany. It's not what you remember from 2026 or 2014, and that's probably for the best.