Jürgen Klopp’s new Germany post has drawn two public rebukes from German football’s old guard in less than a week, both triggered by the same seven minutes of live television at halftime in Munich.

On Wednesday 21 October, with Bayern Munich and Arsenal level in the Champions League, Klopp used a halftime slot on DAZN to say he still could not quite work out Vincent Kompany’s defensive setup, and that Harry Kane holding Bayern’s last line in a midfield press had him stumped.

“I’m not the pope of football,” Klopp told DAZN.

“Everyone is allowed to do what they want, but I haven’t completely figured it out either.”

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Bayern were held 2-2 at the Allianz Arena, Alphonso Davies and Kane cancelling out goals from Eberechi Eze and Declan Rice.

Kahn calls it a pundit’s remark

Oliver Kahn, Bayern’s former chief executive and goalkeeper, was first to push back. Speaking on the Sky football talk show Triple – der Hagedorn Fußballtalk on Friday, he said Klopp’s halftime verdict had sounded nothing like a national team coach.

“I first had to think about whether he was the national team coach or still a football pundit,” Kahn told Triple.

“That was such a typical football pundit’s comment.”

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For a Germany coach to question a Bundesliga manager live on air was, Kahn argued, “partly about collegiality between coaches”, and the man in the national-team tracksuit “has to know exactly what he’s saying”. He also brought up Klopp’s earlier remark at the World Cup that Julian Nagelsmann was “still” Germany coach, which he said had struck him the same way.

Sammer followed on Tuesday

Kane picked up the 2026 Ballon d’Or at the London Palladium on Monday 26 October, the first English winner of the award since Michael Owen in 2001. Twenty-four hours later, DFB sporting director Matthias Sammer told the Sky programme Sammer & Basile – der Hagedorn-Talk that Klopp had underestimated what his new role carries.

“There were a few things in there that he had no need to say,” Sammer told the show.

“He’s doing himself no favours with that.”

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Asked whether Klopp should keep such topics to himself in future, Sammer answered “absolutely”.

Kompany still in hospital

Vincent Kompany collapsed during a reserve-team training session on Friday 23 October, hours after Kahn’s criticism aired, and has been in hospital since. Bayern board member Max Eberl has said the Belgian’s return will be measured in “weeks, not days”, with assistant Aaron Danks taking training.

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