Zeljko Buvac’s position as Liverpool’s Assistant Manager is technically unchanged, although the Serb has left the club on gardening leave until the end of the season for personal reasons.
There’s been no official word as to what exactly has happened for Buvac to depart, but naturally, we hope everything is ok with him and his family. If not, we’re sending our thoughts to the man who’s worked alongside Jurgen Klopp for 17 years and is known as ‘The Brain’ because of his incredible tactical knowledge.
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Paul Joyce in the Times has claimed Buvac’s temporary exit though could in fact be a permanent one, suggesting that he, ‘appears to be on the verge of leaving the club’.
According to the journalist, there’s more to the situation than is bring portrayed by the club:
“It is understood Buvac has become increasingly distant and withdrawn around the club, and visibly less engaged during matches recently, and it is that, rather than any specific fall-out with Klopp, which has resulted in his stepping back from first-team duties in the aftermath of the stalemate with Stoke City on Saturday. Liverpool’s players were informed at training on Sunday.”
The timing is very odd, of course.
With Liverpool’s squad completely threadbare due to countless injuries, the last thing we needed before Wednesday’s Champions League tie with AS Roma was for the assistant manager to exit.
Until the end of the campaign, Liverpool will have to fight tooth and nail and rally around a collective spirit.
If we get past Roma, we need to secure some points in the final two fixtures or risk losing out on fourth place to Chelsea – which would mean we’d have to win the Champions League to play in it next season!