Germany honors Jürgen Klopp with highest civic award

German football coach Jürgen Klopp on Tuesday received the Federal Order of Merit from President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at Bellevue Palace in Berlin. 

He was among 28 recipients honored for "outstanding contributions to the values of democracy."

"Why me? And for what?" Klopp said, adding that he felt "very humble today" to be among  "extraordinary people with such extraordinary stories." 

Who is Jürgen Klopp? 

The 57-year-old from Stuttgart had a fairly mediocre career as a player but joined the coaching staff at his club Mainz as soon as he retired. There, it rapidly became clear his career in the dugout had greater potential than his years on the pitch.

He led Mainz to promotion into Germany's top division, the Bundesliga, for the first time in the club's history in 2004.

Klopp then went to Borussia Dortmund, winning the club back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2010/11 and 2011/12 seasons. 

Most recently, he spent nine years with Liverpool in the English Premier League, bringing a first league title in more than a quarter of a century to the city, as well as the 2019 Champions League. He quit at the end of last season, saying he needed a break.

At both Dortmund and Liverpool, Klopp led clubs with distinct working-class roots and became a powerful, if sometimes reluctant, commentator on various political issues.

'Role model for many' and 'outstanding' ambassador

German broadcaster Tagesschau presenter Susanne Daubner moderated the event, introducing Klopp as recipient of the award, saying that the former coach "became a great role model for many and an outstanding football ambassador, far beyond the world of sport." 

He was celebrated for helping disadvantaged youth, standing up for tolerance and solidarity.

Sometimes nicknamed "the most popular German in the UK," as recipient of the 2019 German Football Ambassador award and the inaugural winner of the German-British Friendship Award in 2021, Klopp was also credited with improving the image of Germany abroad. 

When asked on Tuesday by DW at Bellevue Palace about his thoughts on recent political developments in Germany, such as gains for the far-right AfD in three eastern states this month, Klopp declined to comment.

"I'm not the person and that's not the event to speak about that," he said. "Because I think that's too serious." 

Instead, he focused on his decade in the UK and the contributions he could make there.

"I was honored for the role I played in the relationship between Germany and England. Especially how people in England see Germans. For the last nine years we did that, me and my family — we did that together. We showed that Germans are pretty ok as well," Klopp said. "The other way around as well, that’s what I experienced, because when I arrived in England 2015/2016, Brexit came up, and I was really happy to see what most of the Brits are — really good people."

No eyes on German national team job for the moment

Klopp is currently on an indefinite break from coaching, but he has not ruled out coming back to the sport. For years, he has been treated in Germany as a likely coach of the national team one day. 

However, he played down this speculation on Tuesday in Berlin, praising 37-year-old Julian Nagelsmann's work with the team. 

"Everyone hopes that Julian Nagelsmann will carry on much, much longer than 2026," Klopp said, in reference to the end date of Nagelsmann's current contract.

Federal President Steinmeier hosted a total of 28 honorees on Tuesday, who received various civic awards for their commitment to democracy through science, business, art or sport.  

He dubbed the occasion a "public holiday before the public holiday," in reference to the upcoming German Unity Day on October 3. 

jcg/msh (SID, dpa)