German Jürgen Klopp ruled out coaching again – at the highest level – in the near future this summer. However, the iconic former Liverpool manager was bound by a commitment, the promise he had made to occupy the Borussia Dortmund bench one last time on the occasion of the jubilee of his former players, the Poles Jakub Blaszczykowski and Lukasz Piszczek.
The stadium will be sold out (80,000 tickets have been sold) this Saturday afternoon (5 p.m.) for this emotional reunion between the German coach, his former assistants at Dortmund, as well as BVB legends, including current coach Nuri Sahin, Roman Weidenfeller, sporting director Sebastian Kehl and Brazilian Dedê, and the Signal Iduna Park. All will be on the pitch for this match which will also be marked by the farewell to the club of Mats Hummels (35 years old), expected on the pitch.
“Come on guys, let’s mix it up. Dedê wants to play with all of you, and you all want to play with Dedê. Everyone wants to play with Dedê at least once.” More than nine years later, with a tanned complexion enhanced by that contagious smile that never leaves him, it was a radiant and playful Jürgen Klopp who went back in time and reconnected with his old life for a relatively light training session on Friday. Borussia Dortmund had equipped Jürgen Klopp with a microphone, the opportunity to hear him tease his players more often than not and explain to Dedê why he can no longer kick a ball. “I can’t. I don’t have any muscles at all (he points to his leg). I only have muscles here (he mimes a forehand) to play padel.”
Under his leadership, Borussia Dortmund won the Bundesliga twice (2011, 2012) and reached the Champions League final in 2013. Exhausted after 23 years of coaching clubs, Jürgen Klopp left Liverpool at the end of last season. “I didn’t decide to quit on a whim, it was a global decision,” the 57-year-old German coach explained on July 31, during a speech to the German Football Coaches Association in Würzburg. “Will I be a coach again? I don’t believe so at the moment. Let’s see what happens in a few months. At the moment, there are no plans.”
- RMC Sport
