Klopp urges Germans to reclaim national flag from far right at Nations League unveiling

Jurgen Klopp used his debut press conference as Germany head coach to make a pointed political statement, calling on Germans to reclaim expressions of national pride from the “wrong people” in remarks widely seen as a rebuke to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Speaking at the event to unveil a 44-man split squad for upcoming Nations League fixtures, Klopp said he wanted to “reclaim the flag” — without naming the AfD directly — and argued that waving it should not invite suspicion or association with extremism.

“I don’t want to leave national pride to the wrong people,” Klopp said. “I want it so that when someone waves it, no one thinks: ‘What is wrong with you?’ Instead, I want people to understand: you are happy and realise how lucky you were to be born, grow up, or move to this wonderful country.”

Klopp acknowledged the particular sensitivity of patriotism in Germany, a country that has long viewed overt displays of national pride through the prism of its Nazi past. He said he preferred the term “positive patriotism” to “national pride”, which he feared could be misunderstood, and wore a cap bearing an Adidas logo in the colours of the German flag.

“Can you be proud to be German and still be open, diverse, nice and friendly — can you still show compassion?” he said. “I am 100 percent certain: Yes!”

The remarks came days after the AfD trounced mainstream parties to win an election in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt on 6 September, a result that could lead to the first far-right state government in postwar Germany. The party was also expected to contest another state election that weekend.

“There have been an incredible number of things happening recently: an election took place which some people probably thought was fine, whilst many others thought, ‘Good heavens, what on earth is going on?’” Klopp said.

An AfD spokesperson said the party would issue a statement in response. The secretary general of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democrats, Franziska Hoppermann, welcomed Klopp’s stance. “We all should, and are allowed to, wear our national colours with pride and confidence as symbols of our freedom,” she told Reuters.

Klopp, the former Liverpool manager, begins his tenure in charge of the German national side against the Netherlands on 24 September.