Former Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp has reacted to criticism and defended his decision to take the job as head of global soccer at energy drink giants Red Bull.
“It was always clear—to me it was clear—that I wouldn’t be doing nothing. And then the Red Bull story came onto the table,” he said in the Einfach mal Luppen podcast hosted by former Germany and Real Madrid player Toni Kroos and his brother, Felix.
“To me, that’s outstanding, I have to be honest,” Klopp added. “I don’t know exactly what I could have done to make everyone happy.”
Overseeing Red Bull’s fooball operations
From January 1, Klopp will oversee Red Bull’s football operations, which include RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg, and the New York Red Bulls, among others.
After leaving Liverpool at the end of last season, Klopp decided to take a break and was expected to take another coaching job in the future. He was repeatedly linked with the position at the Germany national team.
The move to Red Bull surprised and disappointed many football fans, who accuse the company of using its money to buy success and use the sport only as a platform to advertise an energy drink.
Klopp sees it differently. When he played against Leipzig in the Champions League, there wasn’t a player in the squad that any other club couldn’t have had, he said.
Players like Willi Orban, Kevin Kampl, and Yussuf Poulsen are “absolute club legends.”
In addition, young players such as Dayot Upamecano (now at Bayern Munich), Ibrahima Konaté (now at Liverpool) and Christopher Nkunku (now at Chelsea) could have been signed by anyone else before they had penned a deal with Leipzig.
“That’s just the way it is,” he said. “It has to be said, I have never been so critical of the Red Bull story.”
Bayern thrash Mainz to reach Cup last 16
Jamal Musiala’s hat-trick led Bayern Munich to a 4-0 thrashing of Mainz and into the last 16 of the German Cup on Wednesday.
The young Bayern talent was quick to break the deadlock and was already on target in the second minute, adding a second goal in the 37th.
Leroy Sané also put his name on the scoresheet before Musiala completed his hat-trick before the break.
“The main focus was on our performance and our best level, which we were able to bring to the pitch today,” coach Vincent Kompany told broadcasters ZDF.
Eintracht Frankfurt were down to 10 men since the 15th minute but still managed a 2-1 win against Bundesliga rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Union Berlin, meanwhile, joined the list of eliminated Bundesliga clubs as they were stunned 2-0 by third-division side Arminia Bielefeld.
Dynamo Dresden scored in the 10th minute of stoppage-time to level 2-2 against Darmstadt and take the match to extra-time. But Darmstadt prevailed thanks to Isac Lidberg’s winner in the 98th.
Elsewhere, Haris Tabakovic and Arthur Chaves scored in Hoffenheim’s 2-1 win against Nuremberg, Freiburg defeated SV Hamburg 2-1 and Werder Bremen are also in the last 16 after a narrow 1-0 victory at Paderborn.
On Tuesday, defending champions Bayer Leverkusen defeated SV Elversberg 3-0, while Borussia Dortmund are out after losing 1-0 at VfL Wolfsburg.
Bayern do the job in 45 minutes
A dominating Bayern needed only 45 minutes to take down Mainz and secure their spot in the next round of the Cup.
The Bavarians took the lead only two minutes after kick-off. Alphonso Davies’ cross was diverted to Musiala by Harry Kane and the midfielder calmly slotted the ball into the far corner.
Kane tried to get one himself, but his header from a Sané’s cross was denied by goalkeeper Robin Zentner. In the rebound, Musiala didn’t miss it. It looked like he was in offside position, but the goal was not checked because there’s no VAR in the second round.
“You don’t need a VAR for that. We have a linesman for that. It’s relatively clear, an easy situation to judge,” Zentner said after the match. “We weren’t lucky with the referee. That’s reserved for Bayern.”
Sané got one himself before Musiala completed his hat-trick after the Mainz defence blocked Konrad Laimer’s low cross but failed to completely clear it.
“I’m getting in good position in the box, which allows me to score easy goals. That was missing from my game in the past few years. Today it worked really well,” Musiala told ZDF.
Frankfurt need only 10 men to win
Arthur Theate was sent off early in the game for a handball that prevented a clear goalscoring chance for Gladbach. Still, it was Frankfurt to find the net first through Hugo Ekitiké shortly before the break.
The guests reacted quickly after halftime and were level in the 47th thanks to Ko Itakura. But Gladbach failed to use their numerical advantage to find a comeback.
Instead, they had to watch Omar Marmoush score Frankfurt’s winner in the 70th.
“Despite having 10 men for a long time, it was a deserved win. In my view, we had the better chances,” coach Dino Toppmöller said.
“It was a victory for all of us and I’m very proud that we’ve reached the next round.”
Theate apologised on X for the early red card.
“Sorry to my teammates and fans for the early red card, so happy we could win the game. What a performance from the team, you are amazing!” he wrote.
Hertha through after late scare
In the other early game, there was drama between second-division team Hertha Berlin and Bundesliga side Heidenheim.
Hertha were leading 2-0 until the 89th minute, when Stefan Schimmer’s header pulled one back for the guests.
Heidenheim thought they had taken the game to extra-time after Paul Wanner found the net in stoppage time, but there was a foul in the play and the goal was ruled out, meaning Hertha made it through to the next round. -dpa
