Karl-Heinz Rummenigge revealed that Bayern Munich held talks with Jurgen Klopp, before the German joined Borussia Dortmund, for the managerial role at the Allianz Arena, as reported by ZDF Sport (via the Mirror).
The Bundesliga champions eventually settled for the now Liverpool boss’ namesake, Jurgen Klinsmann, who was sacked after nine months in the job.
“Uli was in talks with Klopp at the time. We had to make a swift decision and then we agreed to get Jurgen (Klinsmann),” the 65-year-old said. “I was partly responsible for bringing Jurgen Klinsmann on as a coach. Unfortunately, that didn’t work.”
“That was also due to FC Bayern, but it just didn’t work,” Rummenigge added. “I’m very sorry. It wasn’t a good decision for both parties.”
Following highly successful roles with both Dortmund and Liverpool, the Bayern chief’s regret on the matter is more than understandable.
The Bavarians’ loss, however, has very much been our gain, with the club earning its sixth Champions League trophy and bringing back the long-awaited league title back to Merseyside after a 30-year-wait.
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We’re incredibly fortunate to have Klopp at the reins, particularly considering the state of the side following the turmoil of former manager Brendan Rodgers’ final year in charge.
It’s somewhat frightening to think of how close the 53-year-old came to leading Bayern, a decision which could have meant that we missed out on the coach in the long-run.
The former Dortmund boss was the right man for the job in 2015, however, and remains so now, despite our injury-enforced struggles this term.