Jurgen Klopp has made his first firing since joining Red Bull, with the former Liverpool boss making a huge U-turn just a few months into his new job.
Klopp started the role of Global Head of Soccer with the energy drinks company back in January, taking on his first permanent job since leaving Anfield last summer. The German departed Merseyside after nearly nine years in charge, having won the Premier League and Champions League during his time with the Reds.
It hasn’t taken long for his successor to pick up the baton, with Arne Slot looking set to win the league title in his first season in charge since taking over as head coach. Klopp, meanwhile – having been handed a huge pay-off after leaving Liverpool – has now moved away from management, and is now overseeing football operations for Red Bull’s stable of clubs across the world.
That of course means the former Reds boss will have to make some tough calls. He avoided having to dismiss his former assistant at Liverpool when Pep Lijnders was fired by Red Bull Salzburg back in December, but now Klopp has had to wield the axe for the first time in his new role.
RB Leipzig confirmed on Sunday that manager Marco Rose had been fired, with club sitting in sixth in the Bundesliga. Three of Rose’s coaching staff – Alexander Zickler, Frank Geideck and Marco Kurth – were also dismissed, along with the club’s head of first-team football Frank Aehlig.
“We have believed in our co-operation with Marco and his team for a very long time and, up to now, tried everything to turn things around together,” Leipzig’s managing director for sport Marcel Schafer said in a statement.
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“Given the development and the continued lack of results, we’re all firmly convinced that we need new impetus for the remainder of the campaign in order to achieve our aims for the season. We’d like to thank Marco and his coaching team for the past two and a half years, the success we enjoyed together and their commitment to the club.”
Rose’s firing comes despite him seemingly having Klopp’s backing previously. According to Bild, the former Liverpool boss had been calling for Leipzig to give Rose more time in charge, before seemingly losing his patience after the 1-0 defeat to Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday.
Leipzig is expected to appoint an interim replacement to see the club through until the end of the season. They will be tasked with trying to secure a Champions League place for next season, with Leipzig currently three points behind fourth-placed Mainz.
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Liverpool fans could see Klopp back at Anfield soon. The 57-year-old is yet to return to Merseyside since leaving last summer, but with the Reds on the verge of securing the Premier League title, he could make his way back to watch them lift the trophy.
“Yes, the plan is [to be in Liverpool] but not on the bus,” Klopp confirmed. “I will be there with the people, the people I saw when we were on the bus.
“That’s the idea to be honest, but we will see. I think I will be there for the last game… I didn’t want to go earlier to be honest because I didn’t want to jinx it all the time.
“If I’m in the stadium for the first time and they lose, ‘oh f*** sake’. So I go there when it’s decided.”
