FAST DOWNLOAD
On October 9, Kevin Grosskeutz woke up to more than 30 messages on his phone, all saying the same thing: Jurgen Klopp was joining Red Bull. Grosskreutz couldn’t believe what he was reading; he didn’t want to. He had played under Klopp at Borussia Dortmund, who consider themselves the antithesis to Red Bull-backed rivals Leipzig, the ‘most hated club in Germany’.
“I thought I was dreaming,” Grosskruetz admitted on his Viertelstunde Fußball podcast. “Then, I hoped it was fake news. Two hours later, though, it was official. It was pretty shocking and sad. Somehow it hasn’t really sunk in yet.”
Grosskreutz isn’t the only one still struggling to come to terms with Klopp’s decision to become Red Bull’s Global Head of Soccer from January 1 onwards. Indeed, just like the former Germany international, plenty of people within the game find it “very, very strange” that Wednesday’s Champions League meeting between Liverpool and RB Leipzig is essentially a meeting of Klopp’s past and future.
But why did the European Cup winner agreeing to effectively become the sporting face of the Red Bull brand come as such a surprise to so many people? And are they right to accuse him of selling his soul? GOAL breaks down one of the most fiercely debated moves in recent football history…
-
Getty Images Sport‘Running out of energy’
On January 26, Klopp stunned the world of football by announcing that he would step down as Liverpool manager at the end of the 2023-24 campaign. He said he was exhausted, and he looked it too.
Klopp may have masterminded a Reds revival after a trying 2022-23 season, evening winning the Carabao Cup with kids, but it was clear long before the wheels came off Liverpool’s quadruple bid that going full-throttle for almost nine years had taken a heavy toll on him.
His commitment to the Liverpool cause had been total; he had given absolutely everything to putting the Reds back on their pedestal by ending the most infamous title drought in English football history. Some supporters were, thus, surprised to see him confirm his return to the game in October – just three months after his final outing at Anfield.
-
GettyRevitalised by Red Bull
However, in fairness to Klopp, he only made two promises upon disclosing his imminent resignation: firstly, that he wouldn’t “manage a club or country for at least a year”; and, secondly, that he wouldn’t take a job at another English team.
He’s not broken either of those vows, instead opting to take up a lucrative and significantly less stressful role within the Red Bull organisation. As director of the Germany team Rudi Voller pointed out in an interview with Bild Sport, Klopp has “created a job for himself that completely fulfils him. There is no longer the enormous pressure of sitting on the bench.”
Certainly, joining Red Bull already appears to have revitalised a man that was “running out of energy”.
“After almost 25 years on the sideline, I could not be more excited to get involved in a project like this,” he revealed. “The role may have changed, but my passion for football and the people who make the game what it is has not.
-
-
AFP‘Most hated club in Germany’
However, the fact that this is likely to be a very rewarding role for Klopp – in every sense – is irrelevant in the eyes of some. Red Bull are reviled by many fans and influential figures in Germany, who accuse Leipzig of being a ‘plastic club’ and little more than a marketing tool.
The club was only created in 2009, the product of Red Bull’s takeover of fifth-tier outfit SSV Markranstadt, who were immediately rebranded and propelled towards the top-flight thanks to a massive amount of investment into the club’s first-team squad and infrastructure.
Leipzig securing promotion to the Bundesliga inside eight seasons wasn’t deemed a fairy-tale rise, though, because of widespread unhappiness with the way in which they had allegedly circumvented a number of German football’s financial regulations, chief among them the precious ’50-plus-one’ ownership model by effectively pricing people out of buying shares and thus making them the sole reserve of Red Bull employees.
They are, thus, considered a heartless corporate entity, a sad reflection of the rampant capitalism that many football fans believe has ruined modern football.
-
Getty Images‘Are you crazy?’
Klopp, by complete contrast, had carved out quite the reputation for himself as ‘people’s champion’ by forming unusually strong bonds with the supporters of Mainz, Dortmund and Liverpool thanks to his incredible charisma and endearing sincerity.
He looked and sounded like an old-school football man with modern sensibilities and had even previously stated, “I know how much the Red Bull idea is criticised by traditionalists, and I’m one of them too.”
So, when Klopp returned to Dortmund in September for a testimonial involving teams coached by two of his former players, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Lukasz Piszczek, he was given a hero’s welcome by the Yellow Wall. Less than a month later, though, Klopp was being slated by the same supporters that had serenaded him at Signal Iduna Park.
Some Mainz fans have also been left disgusted by this apparent betrayal of Klopp’s core values. Ahead of Saturday’s Bundesliga clash with Leipzig, they unfurled banners that read “Are you crazy?”, “Have you forgotten everything we made you become?” and “I like people to the point where they disappoint me”.
-
-
Getty Images‘Reprehensible to criticise Klopp’
Unsurprisingly, the still popular and respected Klopp has been defended by many of his friends in the game, including David Wagner.
“I can understand those who might have wanted something different from him. But I condemn anyone who criticizes ‘Kloppo’ for this decision. It makes me sick,” former Hudersfield Town, Schalke and Norwich City manager Wagner told Sport 1. “Jurgen Klopp is neither a worse nor a better person, nor a worse coach. What he has achieved remains the same. I find it reprehensible when people question Klopp’s values just because he will soon be working for an outstanding organisation.”
There is no disputing the latter claim, of course. The sporting wing of Red Bull has a well-earned reputation for identifying and nurturing top young talent. Their success has been achieved not by buying superstars – but, rather fittingly, by manufacturing them.
In that sense, Klopp’s willingness to work with the group arguably shouldn’t have come as that much as a surprise, particularly when he even once drew a comparison between what the Fenway Sports Group (FSG) was trying to do at Liverpool – namely generate and sustain success with a multi-team model founded on a prudent and meticulous recruitment strategy.
“What Red Bull is doing is a really interesting project,” Klopp admitted two summers ago. “I have to say they kind of change every year, they sell players but still have a good team. It’s really interesting what they are doing. The football philosophy is not too far away from ours as well.” Which also explains why he continually signed Red Bull-schooled players, such as Sadio Mane, Naby Keita, Takumi Minamino, Ibrahima Konate and Dominik Szoboszlai.
-
Getty Images Sport‘Have to accept decisions’
Klopp’s move to Red Bull is unquestionably a good deal for both parties. As former Germany captain Lothar Matthaus said, “Red Bull thinks very big – and Jurgen Klopp is very big. So, it just fits well together.” Such simple logic won’t quell the controversy, of course – at least not anytime soon.
“I can’t really comprehend it yet,” Grosskreutz confessed. “Nevertheless, he’s a friend of mine and I owe him a lot. And I will always be grateful to him. As a football fan, I think it sucks, to put it bluntly! But, as a friend, you have to accept decisions being made. When we meet, I’ll still tell him personally that I think it’s sh*t that he does something like that!”
That’s obviously Grosskreutz’s prerogative. Klopp has unquestionably left himself open to allegations of hypocrisy and ‘selling out’ – even though he’s long defended past employers like FSG in public and rarely passed up an advertising opportunity in his native Germany.
The disappointment of Dortmund fans is understandable. Klopp was their hero. Now he’s working for the ‘villains’. But one can only hope they’ll soon come to terms with the perceived betrayal, so they can stop complaining about a former manager promoting an energy drink and spend more time addressing the fact that their club is sponsored by a weapons manufacturer – which is truly shocking and sad.
-
