There is something fitting about Jurgen Klopp building his Germany backroom team the same way he built everything else in his career — by surrounding himself with people he trusts completely. And according to Sky Germany, two of those people are going to be very familiar to Liverpool supporters.

Both Pep Lijnders and Peter Krawietz are expected to join Klopp's coaching setup at the DFB as the 59-year-old prepares to be officially confirmed as Germany's head coach. Sven Bender is also set to be part of the newly assembled team. The formal announcement is expected imminently, with Klopp having already been quietly working through the key decisions about who he wants alongside him before anything goes public.

For Liverpool supporters of a certain vintage, seeing those names again will stir something warm. Lijnders and Krawietz were not just background figures during Klopp's time at Anfield — they were central to everything the club built during that golden era. The kind of coaches who rarely get the headlines but are absolutely indispensable to how a manager works.

Lijnders himself spoke about that relationship back in 2020, and his words are worth sitting with for a moment. "There's a super dynamic between us. It's much more than just assistant and manager," he said. "What I mean by that is that I believe you need 100 per cent trust in this job because we have to make so many decisions on a daily basis."

He did not stop there either. "I love working for him. He sees who I am, and respects that. We know what to expect from each other. Jurgen is a true leader. He's inspirational and motivational. He still surprises me every day with something he says. His brain works differently to a lot of other brains!"

Strong words. But not the kind you say for the cameras — they have the ring of someone who genuinely means every syllable. Lijnders went on to describe a quality in Klopp that perhaps explains why players and staff alike run through walls for the man. "I think everyone who works with Jurgen has the feeling he really cares about you and your development. There is no ego, he purely searches for the right thing to do."

Since leaving Liverpool, Lijnders has been on quite the journey. He spent seven months as manager of Red Bull Salzburg before finding his way back to the Premier League as an assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. What makes that particular move even more interesting is that Klopp himself actively encouraged Lijnders to take the City job — a remarkable act of selflessness when you consider who sits on the other side of that particular rivalry.

Lijnders has spoken candidly about how that conversation went. "The moment Pep called, and the feeling he gave me about what he wanted to do with the team by bringing me in, the trust he already had before we discussed how it would look, that made the decision much easier," he said. "But you cannot put away 10 years of Liverpool that easily. But I'm really proud to come to a club of this magnitude, so successful over the last 10 years and with a manager that defined football."

And then came the line that tells you everything about the relationship between Lijnders and Klopp. "When I spoke with Jürgen he was so clear: 'If you don't do it, I will take the assistant job.'" Classic Klopp. Warm, funny, and utterly genuine all at once.

Krawietz, meanwhile, stayed the full course at Liverpool, working alongside Klopp right up until his departure in 2024. His presence in the Germany setup will feel like a natural continuation of a long and trusted partnership.

For Liverpool supporters watching all of this unfold from afar, there is a bittersweet quality to it. These were our people, part of something that felt very special for a very long time. But there is also pride in seeing them go on to shape football at the highest international level.

Klopp's Germany era has not even officially started yet, but it already has the hallmarks of something worth watching closely.