Liverpool vs. Bayern: The German giants are all that Jurgen Klopp is not in the shock of the Champions League

It was the early hours of Kiev and although he lost the final of the Champions League to Real Madrid, Jurgen Klopp wore his cap in the back and sang with a man in Liverpool jersey whose nickname could to make think cabaret.

Andreas Frege – or Campino as he is called – was born in Düsseldorf but his mother was English. He had fallen in love with the club Klopp now headed after Borussia Monchengladbach's victory in the 1973 UEFA Cup final. Football was Campino's pbadion, but his talent was in music and Klopp became a fan of his band Die Toten Hosen – translates directly & # 39; The dead pants. & # 39;

Campino believed in punk rather than floors. His group did not exist solely to promote causes, but was prepared. Although not badociated with any political party, the Dead Pants have taken a stand against xenophobia and racism, they have supported Greenpeace in a campaign to end nuclear testing and posed without clothing at the time. name of the PETA animal rights group.

Among their latest initiatives related to the domination of Bayern Munich on German football, a song published in 2000 was disapproved. In Bayern, Campino shouted: "Many things can happen / Several things can come true / One thing I know for sure. Never in my life would I go to Bayern! (Never go to f ** king Bayern!). "

A reaction was projected and a reprimand, perhaps, intercepted because in the last stages of this video, a corpulent silhouette in a club blazer loomed. It was supposed to be Uli Hoeness – the president of Bayern – who examined a television screen and who, after hearing the words, whispered earlier: "This is the kind of dirt that will stifle our society at a given moment. "

It has been said that Bavaria had the wealth of Hertfordshire and the attitude of Yorkshire. This annoys those outside the region, who seem to see themselves as a moral base where intentions, norms and achievements can not be seriously questioned, certainly not without a fierce response.

Of course, Klopp is facing the institution against which he fought when he was Borussia Dortmund's coach for the first time in competition since arriving at Anfield, not just on the sporting side, but also on the spiritual plane. While it is badumed outside of Germany that Klopp will eventually travel to Munich as a coach, see who he is badociated with and understand his story by listening to those who know him well and it seems less likely, although not impossible.

The story of Klopp considered by Bayern eleven years ago is well known. In fact, it's Hoeness who is most keen on Klopp, telling other board members: "I have a good feeling about this guy." It's also Hoeness who called Klopp first, a manager who spent seven seasons in Mainz. had achieved promotion and European football as well as relegation. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, president of Bayern, feared that at 40, he was neither experienced nor known. Instead, Bayern chose Jurgen Klinsmann – national hero and legend of Bayern – who was sacked nine months later. Philipp Lahm revealed that the players did not know what to do under Klinsmann and would often meet to discuss tactical strategy because little information was forthcoming. their coach.

Jurgen Klopp jokes in practice as Liverpool prepares for Bayern (Liverpool FC via Getty)

In Raphael Honigstein's book, Bring the Noise, it's Hoeness who recalled Klopp two days after their initial conversation with the news: "We left for the other Jurgen". Klopp, according to Mainz sporting director, Christian Heidel, "was a little hurt" by the suggestion that Klinsmann was similar to him when Klopp was clearly the coach of the most experienced club and that later in the day, the The local journalist from the city could remember his moody training, and the fact that this approach became public through Hoeness was a good thing for Klopp, because everyone knew now how much he was perceived as such.

Hoeness admitted: "We signed the bad Jurgen", three years later, Klopp had led Dortmund to win the first consecutive Bundesliga title. In 2011, Bayern finished third, ten points behind, but the biggest feat was probably the defense of its title twelve months later, while Bayern was more competitive but still finished eight after.

The atmosphere between Klopp and Bayern changed when Bayern recruited some of the best players from Dortmund and took the initiative. Klopp would then compare them to a James Bond villain, determined to dominate the world, claiming that he was "like the Chinese – they see what others are doing and copy it, with more money," he said after losing the final of the German Cup. at Bayern in 2013.

Two years later, Matthias Sammer, former Dortmund player and coach and now technical director of Bayern, said that argument was undeniable. He thought other clubs were not working hard enough to compete with his new employer. Klopp replied, "If I were him, I would thank God for having had the idea to hire me whenever I would go to Bayern's training center" he replied. "I do not know if Bayern would have a point less without Sammer."

When asked to remember the period, Jorg Jakub, editor of Kicker magazine, described Klopp as "a new boxer in the ring, even if it were not just words – he had already saved ".

Few managers, presidents and certainly players have had the courage to publicly criticize Bayern with such a provocation, knowing what would happen every time it happens: Bayern reacting ten times stronger.

Dietmar Hamann told Sky TV in Germany that Robert Lewandowski had lost his advantage. The attacker's agent was the first to respond with Maik Barthel questioning Hamann's "tactical understanding", before Lewandowski qualified his comments as "stupid". It was only after scoring 3-1 against Schalke that Hasan Salihamidzic was weighed. the debate, with the club's latest sports director claiming that Hamann was running a campaign against the player, describing the former Liverpool midfielder as "a problem" for the TV channel.

In 2014, Lewandowksi became one of the players that Klopp lost to Bayern, although it was Mario Gotze's transfer that hurt him the most. "It was not just the way, it was the simple fact that it could really happen," said a source at The Independent, who spoke of Klopp's reaction to the news, comparing it to unexpected death. of a young family member. "Klopp thought that Bayern's tentacles were stretching far, but not so far away."

In Building the Yellow Wall, Uli Hesse remembered the press conference that preceded the match between Dortmund and Mainz in 2013, when Klopp knew that Gotze was going to leave, but no one else in the room wanted it. This was one of the occasions when Klopp exercised restraint. Bayern's schedule had been devastating and was likely to undo much of Klopp's work in the final weeks of the season, when he would qualify for the first Champions League final in sixteen years.

When Klopp was questioned about what he thought of Hoeness's suggestion that the Bundesliga was likely to create "Spanish conditions", Bayern and Dortmund appearing to be able to distance themselves from the rest of the competition from the same way as Barcelona and Real Madrid, Klopp He could have started the discussion, but instead, he spoke of his fears for the "Scottish situation", where Celtic – following the disappearance of Rangers – had could become much better than everyone else, bringing together all the talents and reducing the level of threat elsewhere.

"I think when the new Bayern team will be announced this summer, we'll see that what Hoeness said is not fully supported by the team together," Klopp said. The reporters thought that he was referring to the recruitment of Pep Guardiola as a coach. At that time, it was common knowledge that they also wanted to sign Lewandowski. Although this happened twelve months later, Klopp was actually referring to Gotze's decision to leave him, a twenty-year-old man who had been living in Dortmund since the age of nine. He had made his professional debut at seventeen. Above all – and Klopp told this to Gotze – he thought he was making a mistake by joining Bayern and Guardiola, and it turned out that it was fine as well.

"Klopp could only leave vague hints at the Mainz press conference," wrote Hesse. "With the match of Real Madrid coming [in the Champions League semi-final]he could not afford to announce this breathtaking news and cause a commotion. So, that is someone else who did it. "

Nobody really knows who told the story of Gotze's departure – triggered by a clause in his contract – but there surely could not be anyone who had a healthy interest in Dortmund as he had landed in the tabloid Bild less than 24 hours before the first leg with Real. "They tried to destroy us," said Hans-Joachim Watzke, CEO of Dortmund, at the club against which they would lose in the European confrontation that took place in Wembley a month later.

Klopp still thinks that Franck Ribéry should have been excluded in the final when the score was in deadlock 1-1. He was also furious (naturally) when a goal in front of who should have been against Bayern in another final of the German Cup was dismissed.

Since arriving in England, it is said that Bayern disappeared from Klopp's thinking simply because they no longer compete. "The rivalry for him is now Everton, Manchester United and City," was the message from last week. The feeling was that when Klopp finally left Liverpool he would lead the German national team earlier. "Jurgen is a strong character and he likes to work with other strong characters," said another source. "Where he pulls the line is interference and Bayern, maybe there's a little too much."

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