Julian Nagelsmann has revealed he "did not expect an apology" from Jurgen Klopp, following the legendary former Liverpool manager's jest about taking over the Germany national side. Klopp has been linked with potentially succeeding Nagelsmann, and seemed to allude to that possibility during Magenta Sport's live broadcast of Germany's thumping win against Curacao at the World Cup.
Offering his thoughts on the starting XI before kick-off, Klopp said: "Luckily, it's Julian Nagelsmann who's picking the team... still." Bayern Munich legend Thomas Muller, who was co-presenting with Klopp, burst into laughter at the tongue-in-cheek remark, before responding: "Kloppo, we are still in June. You are already in September."
The response from Stefan Effenberg, who reached the final of Euro 92 with Germany, did not find the same humour Klopp and Muller enjoyed. Speaking on Sport1 afterwards, he stated: "That's not right; he's speaking to millions of viewers. And on top of that, he ended up bursting out laughing. A comment like that, you can make it over a beer in the pub, but certainly not in front of millions of viewers. It's unacceptable."
Klopp later took on an apologetic stance while speaking to Nagelsmann following the victory over Curacao. He said: "We're also informally part of the team, we're absolutely on your side. I've already discovered the most hated word of the year: still. I could have punched myself in the face for that, but it was already too late and I was on TV. It just slipped out casually, and has absolutely no relevance. What I've realised is, I'll be 59 on Tuesday and I'm still an idiot."
He also added: "We are completely on your side, whatever you do with this. Nothing will come of it that is intended to disrupt the process here."
Nagelsmann seemed to dismiss Klopp's original remarks when questioned about them during a pre-match press briefing ahead of Germany's fixture against the Ivory Coast, scheduled for Saturday evening. He stated: "I did not expect an apology from Jurgen Klopp for his comments and I also don't listen to everybody talking about our team. That's not possible."
Klopp currently works as Red Bull's head of global football, a position he took on last year following his Liverpool exit. For now, he appears happy to keep away from the touchline and isn't expected to return to management any time soon.
