NEW YORK.- Jurgen Klopp defended his decision to lead the group of football teams Red Bull saying he “didn’t want to offend anyone”, after his decision generated criticism from some fans of his former teams in Germany.
Klopp will take on the role of global head of football at the energy drinks company in January in what was seen as a surprise decision. This will be his first role since leaving Liverpool at the end of last season.
“I didn’t want to offend anyone, definitely not and personally I love all my former teams,” Klopp said in an interview released Wednesday on former German and Real Madrid player Toni Kroos’ podcast.
Klopp suggested that if he had made the decision to manage another club, it would also have been disappointing for some fans.
“I really don’t know what I could have done to make everyone happy,” he admitted.
In Germany, Red Bull, and especially Leipzig, are especially resented by football fans who see the company as a corporate presence trying to buy success.
Fans of Borussia Dortmund, one of Klopp’s former teams, criticized the decision. While Mainz fans displayed banners this month expressing their disappointment and questioning whether “he was crazy”.
Klopp spent 18 years at Mainz as a player and coach before joining Dortmund in 2008, leading the team to two Bundesliga titles and the Champions League final.
The veteran said he had never seen Red Bull’s involvement in such a “critical” way and suggested it played an important role in bringing top-level football to East Germany with the Leipzig project.
Previously, the German coach said he wanted to take “a long break” from football after leaving Liverpool, the team he left last May, after nine years.
Brief explanation
“I’m 57 years old, so I can still work for a few more years, but I don’t really see myself in the band (as a coach) at the moment”, he indicated. “It was always clear that it wasn’t that I wasn’t going to do anything. And then this situation with Red Bull came up and for me it was incredible.”
Klopp said he sees his role at Red Bull essentially as an “advisor” who will work alongside the coaches and teams owned by the energy drink company. “I always had the feeling that the coach is the loneliest person at the club,” he added.
SOURCE: SHOVEL