The football manager takes the helm of the German national team following his successes at Liverpool and Dortmund. Klopp's relationship with God has been a constant thread running through his life.
Jürgen Klopp, national coach of the Germany football tema, in an image of 2019. / Photo: [link]Alexander Migl[/link], Wikimedia Commons, CCBYSA
Glaube, Liebe, Klopp (Faith, Love, Klopp) is a new biography about the life of one of the most recognisable figures in German sport over the last decade.
Jürgen Klopp, often called ‘The Normal One’ or simply ‘Kloppo’, played football professionally for 12 years. But what has made him a global icon is his role as a manager, having won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2019, as well as the Premier League with the same team (2020), plus two previous Bundesliga titles in Germany with Borussia Dortmund (2011 and 2012).
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Very popular with the press for his good humour and willingness to answer questions, Jürgen Klopp has never shied away from talking about his Christian faith. The manager does not consider himself a ‘missionary’, but as he has said in the past, ‘to be a believer, but not to want to talk about it – I do not know how it would work’.
Bestselling author Michael Horeni describes him in this new biography (published by C. Bertelsmann, 2026, 368 pages) as someone with strong values instilled from childhood.
Born in Glatten, a village in Bavaria (southern Germany), into a family that attended church regularly. It was during his youth that Jürgen came to realise that God does not merely seek to condemn, but is full of grace and offers second chances.
As reported by the German magazine Pro Medien Magazin, this new biography reveals that as a teenager he was a classroom representative. Humility – expressed through a concern for the welfare of others – along with gratitude to God, the author explains, have had a profound influence on today’s successful football manager.
Losing as many as six football championship finals and experiencing disappointments with people have also shaped Jürgen, who speaks of family as a fundamental part of his life.
A key moment in his Protestant Christian faith was meeting a Christian coach, with whom he worked through personal and professional issues and with whom he now shares a long-standing friendship based on mutual support in the faith.
[photo_footer] The biography. [/photo_footer]
In an interview with the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper, he explained: “When I look at myself and my life – and I take time for that every day – then I feel I am in sensationally good hands. And I find it a pity if other people lack this sense of security – although they don’t know it, of course, because otherwise they would probably look for it”.
In 2017, Germany celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Klopp was chosen as an ambassador for the commemoration centred on Martin Luther and his translation of the Scriptures into German, helping to spread the Bible at a time of great social visibility.
Klopp admires Luther’s willingness to stand up for the most vulnerable, he explained at the time. On social issues, the manager has often described himself as a moderate progressive, explaining, for example, that he was in favour of Germany opening its doors to immigrants and refugees during the 2015 Syrian crisis, and of maintaining high taxes on the wealthiest to promote the redistribution of wealth to the most vulnerable.
The new manager of the Bundesmannschaft (the German national football team) told Kicker magazine in 2014: “Jesus Christ is the most important person in history. For me, this is an easy answer. This person comes into the world with a clear mission, which is by no means easy to accomplish”.
“In the end [of his life], he took all the sins upon himself and was nailed to a cross”. This is why Jesus’ death on the Cross “was the greatest act ever achieved, because it changed everything”. “We don’t have to do it [pay for our sins] and this is a huge comfort”, he added.
In his new role as national football manager, Klopp faces the start of the Nations League campaign, followed by the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2028.
Germany have been world football champions on four occasions: 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014.
This year’s 2026 FIFA World Cup in the US ended in disappointment as the team were knocked out in the round of 32 by Paraguay. Jürgen Klinsmann was the manager, and he has now handed over the reins to ‘Kloppo’.
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