*This content was translated by AI.
"What I missed is the biggest stain on my life." Master Klopp, late regret... I wanted more than Salah and Mane
Jurgen Klopp (59), a "world-renowned master," cited the failure to be with Son Heung-min (34, LA FC) as the biggest regret in his manager's career.
Klopp had a time to reflect on his leadership life through an interview with the German broadcaster "RTL Sports" on the 30th (Korea Standard Time).
He answered the question, "Is there a player who wanted to guide, but couldn't do it in the end?" without a second's hesitation. The name from Klopp's mouth was "Son." Klopp blamed himself, saying, "It was a clear mistake in my life to fail to recruit Son Heung-min."
"I missed the opportunity because I didn't ask clearly enough (for recruitment) at the time or I wasn't proactive enough. Since then, I haven't had a chance to bring him back anymore," he confessed.
It is extremely unusual for one of the world's best masters to describe the failure to recruit a specific player as a "mistake."
In fact, Klopp and Son Heung-min's "mixed relationship" is a famous story in the soccer world. When Klopp was in charge of Dortmund, Son Heung-min played for Hamburg SV and Bayer Leverkusen and showed strong performance against Dortmund, earning him the nickname "a beekeeper."
At that time, Klopp was fascinated by Son Heung-min's explosive speed and determination as an enemy leader, and he actually tried to recruit him, but the meeting failed when Son Heung-min chose Leverkusen.
Since then, when Klopp took the helm of Liverpool and commanded the English Premier League (EPL), Son Heung-min has grown into Tottenham's ace and bothered him. No striker was as suitable as Son Heung-min for Klopp's strong forward pressure and fast counterattack football. However, when Son Heung-min became a symbol of Tottenham, it became practically difficult to recruit him. In the end, the two faced each other only as enemies, not coaches and players.
Fans who encountered Klopp's interview said, "If Son Heung-min had gone to Klopp's Liverpool, he would have surpassed Mane-Firmino-Sala line," and "You can see how highly Klopp values Son Heung-min."
Although the priest's relationship was not established, Klopp praised Son Heung-min as a "world class" throughout his time as a coach. Son Heung-min remains the "most regrettable puzzle piece" for Klopp, who is on the administrative path as Red Bull's global head of football.
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*This content was translated by AI.
