Jürgen Klopp’s new gig: a ‘dagger in the heart for football romance’ | Football

A LOAD OF (RED) BULLS?

Say it isn’t so, Jürgen. Say it isn’t so. Last January, Liverpool’s then manager Jurgen Klopp shocked football by releasing a video announcing he would be heading for the exit doors of Anfield at the end of the season. By way of explanation, Klopp revealed that he had “run out of energy”, so at the very least the surprising news that he will take on a new role as head of global football at Red Bull should come as no surprise. Unfortunately, the revelation that this affable, seemingly grounded, if occasionally cantankerous German has also become a corporate sellout in so many other ways seems crushingly disappointing. “I know how much criticism the Red Bull idea gets from traditionalists and I am one of them too,” he chirped two years ago, at a time when, as a former manager of Mainz and Borussia Dortmund, he always seemed to convey the impression that he was a man of the people who intrinsically ‘got’ football fandom and culture, and what it was all about.

Now it has been announced that from January 1, this particular traditionalist will hungrily suck the Red Bull teat, feasting on the steady supply of Euros and the caffeine-soaked, sickly sweet goo that results. Having apparently rid himself of the potential aversion to a multi-club ownership model in which clubs like Austria Salzburg or SSV Markranstädt are bought against the wishes of their supporters and completely rebranded to increase Red Bull’s profile, Klopp ostentatiously taps Vs . towards fans who had previously held him in higher regard. Moreover, he could hardly seem happier about his new role as head of football at some of the most hated, plastic clubs in the world.

“After almost 25 years on the sidelines, I couldn’t be more excited to get involved in a project like this,” he raved. “The role may have changed, but my passion for football and the people who make the game what it is has not.” For ‘making the game’ you read: buying licenses from teams, changing their colors and date of founding, pasting them into Red Bull logos, contrary to the wishes of the fans. Clubs, that is, unlike Mainz and Borussia Dortmund, who have always found themselves subject to such vulgarity and until now thought Klopp was on their side. And while their former deity made no effort to justify his full facehe can expect to answer questions as tough as they are valid on January 25, when he sits before reporters for the first time to discuss his new role.

In other news about his new gig, Klopp is reported to have a release clause that will allow him to apply for the Germany job once Julian Nagelsmann leaves, although given their well-documented social conscience and anger towards clubs by taking sponsorship from corporations or nation states which they hate, it remains to be seen whether or not fans want him in the role. “Members of the media and fans think Klopp has destroyed his legacy,” sniffed German football hack Constantin Eckner, while Kicker referred to the 57-year-old taking on his role as a “dagger in the hearts of football romantics”. Of course, in today’s environment of state takeovers, ticket price gouging, associated party transaction rules, the proliferation of gambling advertising, FIFA’s never-ending tricks and everything else that is wrong with the game, football romantics are on the elite level of the football world, of course, the sport is fast becoming an outdated breed. Now it appears they have lost another man, but if nothing else, the mental gymnastics performed by various Klopp cultists to justify his decision will make for an interesting and entertaining read.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We scored the goals, but the players didn’t work as hard as I wanted them to work on the pitch. We just ran to get the ball, which is not good enough. If you want to possess the ball, you have to run.” – Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor did not fully agree with her team’s performance despite beating Real Madrid 3-2 in their Women’s Big Cup match.

Thank you very much for your beautiful tribute to Johan Neeskens (yesterday’s Voetbaldagblad). I read it with a small tear in my eye… As a young boy I wished my first name was Johan, and that wasn’t because of Cruijff!” – Gerben van Sark.

I’m shocked to hear that Ryan Mason is in talks for the Anderlecht job. Doesn’t he know there could be a better temporary manager gig just around the corner from his hometown in Tottenham? – Dedric Helgert.

For some reason my homemade irony meter always starts vibrating whenever I get near Football Daily – I tend to ignore both – but I couldn’t help but notice the angry burst of steam and loud horn warnings as I read on Big Website that the Manchester United ‘executive summit’ led by Jim Ratcliffe was held in London, and that this was apparently a regular agenda appointment for the above-mentioned lawsuits. Is this the same Jim Ratcliffe who, within a few weeks of his arrival, sent an email to non-playing club staff offering a generous week to decide whether they wanted to resign or permanently stop working from home and working in the office? On this basis, shouldn’t it be Big Sir Jim and his hapless, epically underperforming executives who should face the punishment for breaching their own terms and conditions? –Steve Malone.

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