Start at Red Bull

Klopp on first missions in Paris and Leipzig

Jürgen Klopp watched Leipzig's 4:2 victory in the stadium.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Ronny HARTMANN)

RB Leipzig coach Marco Rose had to cancel a spontaneous meeting with Jürgen Klopp after the league win against Werder Bremen. "I have a few friends there. I'm meeting with Kloppo tomorrow," said Rose on Sunday after the 4:2 win, which Klopp had surprisingly watched in the stadium. The meeting with the Red Bull Group's new Head of Global Soccer will therefore only take place on Monday, probably at the RB training ground. "At least that's where I am," said Rose.

Klopp made the decision to attend the Bremen game very spontaneously. The Leipzig players, including Austria's Footballer of the Year Christoph Baumgartner, who scored his first league goal of the season in the final, only found out about the high-ranking visitor after the final whistle. "I think he saw a great game," said German international David Raum. "I'm delighted that he's here. We'll see what influence he has."

Klopp presentation in Salzburg
Klopp took up his new post at the start of the year. On Saturday, the former Liverpool coach and Red Bull's technical director Mario Gomez watched the French second division club Paris FC, in which the group holds shares, win 1-0 against Amiens in the stadium. A day later in Leipzig, the duo sat next to Marcel Schäfer, the club's sports director, in the VIP stands.

Klopp will then be officially presented in his new role in Salzburg on Tuesday. At the side of Red Bull managing director Oliver Mintzlaff, the 57-year-old German will answer questions from over 200 media representatives at Hangar-7. Klopp is responsible for the clubs in Leipzig, Salzburg, New York, Brazil and Japan. The drinks company also holds minority stakes in Paris FC and Leeds United.

Rose wants restraint
Rose, meanwhile, hopes for himself and his fellow coaches in the Red Bull cosmos that Klopp does not act as a kind of shadow coach. "It would be important if we could do our work every day at the sites without constantly looking at what Jürgen Klopp is doing. I don't think he understands his role that way," said the former Salzburg coach.

Marco Rose

(Bild: AFP/APA/Piero CRUCIATTI)

Last year, Rose was criticized after a winless November, when Klopp, who had already been appointed, reportedly spoke out in favor of his former player. Klopp's former Liverpool assistant Pepijn Lijnders, on the other hand, had to leave Salzburg after a difficult fall and only fifth place in the table. German Thomas Letsch, who is currently at a training camp with Salzburg in Albufeira, Portugal, was appointed as his successor in December.