Robert Huth on Klopp's Impact as Germany Coach

Robert Huth has never been one for dressing things up. Ask him what Jurgen Klopp has to do to justify his blockbuster deal as future Germany boss, and the former international doesn’t reach for tactics boards or long-term strategic visions.

“Be less sh*t,” he told GOAL, speaking via SportsbookReview.com. “The bar isn't very high, I think, at the moment.”

Crude. Honest. And, in Huth’s eyes, exactly where German football finds itself.

Klopp effect before a ball is kicked

Klopp doesn’t even take charge of the national team until after Euro 2028, yet Huth is already convinced the appointment has changed the mood around Die Mannschaft.

“What that appointment has done already in Germany, without Germany having played a game yet, is kind of brought that togetherness straight away,” he said. “That kind of happened on the day he was appointed. Everyone was going, ‘yes, yes, now we've got that guy who we wanted 10 years ago’.”

Germany have drifted badly since lifting the World Cup in 2014. Early tournament exits, fractured performances, a fanbase falling out of love with its own team. Klopp, Huth believes, instantly cuts through that malaise.

He’s not just a big name. He’s a figurehead.

“Obviously, he was with Liverpool and Dortmund prior to that. But he's got that personality, the mindset, the knowledge of what it takes to get a nation back together,” Huth said.

Then came the moment that really hit him: Klopp’s first press conference.

“I don't know if you saw his first press conference, I was like, ‘oh, where are my boots, I want to put my boots back on and start playing again!’ Not that I would be selected, but do you know what I mean? Like, I was watching the press conference again.”

No BS, no excuses

For Huth, that first public address from Klopp set the tone. No slogans. No corporate gloss. Just demands.

“I can only imagine being an active player and listening to a press conference because there was no BS. There were no clever words,” Huth said. “It was like, ‘listen, if you want to play for Germany, you're going to have to run a bit harder, you're going to have to fight harder, this is going to mean a bit more when you put the badge on’.”

Klopp could easily have taken aim at his predecessors, distanced himself from the failures of recent years and played the blame game. Huth was struck by the fact he didn’t.

“It could have been very easy to throw the previous managers under the bus, ‘that was rubbish’, which I don't think he did,” Huth explained. “He just went, ‘well, we need that bit more when comparing Germany to other nations that got further in the Euros and in the World Cup’.”

The message? Standards have slipped. Effort is non-negotiable. The badge has to matter again.

Heavy metal expectations

So far, the response inside German football has encouraged Huth.

“So, so far, he talks a good game. The feedback's been good from the Bundesliga clubs,” he said. “He's gone to plenty of games in pre-season and in the club games. So it looks great on paper.”

That’s the early groundwork. The real test comes when tournaments roll around again and Germany are measured against the giants they used to stand alongside as equals.

“I fully imagine Germany is going to be a lot better in the upcoming tournaments than they have been in the past,” Huth said. He stops short of predicting trophies. Respect, though, must be restored.

“Not to say that they're going to win it. I think even themselves said, ‘listen, we're going to try and win it, of course, that's the aim, but there's France, there's England, there's Brazil, there's Argentina, there's some proper other football nations out there, but we're going to get out there and certainly leave everything on a pitch’.”

That, for Huth, has been missing.

“That hasn’t been the case in Germany’s situation over the last few years. So I'm excited. Come on, Germany!”

He knows how far they’ve fallen. He lived through the era when they were feared.

“We've been sh*t since 2014 so a semi-final would be all right,” he admitted.

What excites him most is the possibility that Klopp can inject his trademark chaos and intensity into the international game.

“If Germany can replicate any kind of Liverpool's and Dortmund's intensity, pace, energy, spirit, I'm getting excited!” Huth said. “I know it's difficult to replicate it in the national team, but if they can do it, if you can do it, that would be heavy metal football!”

Germany have their rock star coach lined up. The question now is whether a team that has lost its edge can rediscover that brutal, relentless rhythm when it matters most.