5 Potential Replacements for Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund

Well, it finally happened. What many thought would never come to pass: Jurgen Klopp has announced that, at the end of this current season, he will step down as first-team manager of Borussia Dortmund to allow another to take his place. 

Speaking at a club press conference on Wednesday—reported by the official Bundesliga website—Klopp announced the reasoning behind his decision to stand down from the helm of the Bundesliga side.

"This club deserves to be coached by someone who is 100 per cent the right person for the job, and a decision had to be made," he said. 

"This is a time where the planning for the new season starts. That's why this decision for the future had to be made now." 

Yet while fans and neutrals alike mourn the break-up of one of European football's most dynamic manager-club duos, club chief executive officer Hans-Joachim Watzke and sporting director Michael Zorc will have already begun their search for Klopp's successor. 

Here are the best five managers to consider for such a shortlist.

Roger Schmidt

Daniel Ochoa de Olza/Associated Press

Roger Schmidt joins this list as the undoubted rookie, considering his lack of experience in the Bundesliga compared to the other four candidates for the job.

However, in the young Bayer Leverkusen manager, we have a coach whose style is perhaps the most similar to the fast attacking and closing down of Klopp’s championship-winning Dortmund sides of old.

Schmidt has already proven himself in the German top division with a top-four spot all but confirmed, while also stating his intention in the Champions League with wins over Zenit St. Petersburg, Benfica and Atletico Madrid.

Perhaps Dortmund should snatch his signature now before he pulls Leverkusen past their long reach.

Thomas Tuchel

Michael Probst/Associated Press

Undoubtedly the clear front-runner for Klopp’s job, former Mainz manager Thomas Tuchel certainly shares a number of parallels with the current Westfalenstadion boss.

German tabloid Bild is convinced he’ll be confirmed before too long, announcing before Wednesday’s press conference that it was a done deal (as reported in English by Deutsche Welle).

Tuchel brings with him a wave of excitement and a tactical mind that perhaps even surpasses his potential predecessor. He’s been wanted by any Bundesliga chairman with a job opening since he left his post at Mainz and would undoubtedly be a fine appointment at Dortmund.

Markus Weinzierl

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

If Tuchel is the hot new coach in German football these days, then Markus Weinzierl is the hipster alternative that most of the mainstream media outside of the Bundesliga bubble have yet to appreciate.

The 40-year-old has only been in full-time management since 2008 but has already made a name for himself through the manner in which he has turned Augsburg around over the past two seasons and made them one of the Bundesliga’s most determined sides despite their minuscule budget.

The Dortmund position may be a step too far for Weinzierl at the moment, who has very limited experience at the top of the German table, but he’s certainly one to consider.

In this most competitive of leagues, bold decisions can be the difference between first and fifth.

Lucien Favre

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

Outside of Munich, Borussia Monchengladbach manager Lucien Favre is quite confidently considered the best manager in German football today.

The 57-year-old has been at the Foals for the past four years and has done an incredible job on a very limited budget at the Borussia Park.

Although Gladbach may sit above Dortmund in the Champions League spaces, offering an enticing challenge for Favre next season, the composed coach isn’t one to jump in reactionary circumstances.

He’d want the Dortmund throne with every intention of keeping it for the long term.

Joachim Low

Martin Meissner/Associated Press

It may seem like an odd prospect to consider the current German national team manager as a potential replacement for the current Dortmund manager, but in truth, it would only be this job or Pep Guardiola’s that could potentially tempt Joachim Low from his role at Germany.

Low did, of course, just sign a contract extension with the national team and is in the middle of a campaign to qualify for next summer’s European Championships, but should Dortmund find a stopgap for next season, he may be inclined to step down next summer.

And let’s be honest, once you’ve won a World Cup, you can really walk into any job.