Jurgen Klopp had dismissed any hopes he would join the punditry panel for this year’s Champions League final between Dortmund and Real Madrid as “crazy.”
Dortmund sealed their spot in the Champions League final for the first time in 11 years as they overcame Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 in the semi-finals.
They were joined by Real Madrid on Wednesday, after a dramatic comeback victory over Bayern Munich that saw former Stoke striker Joselu net twice in four minutes to make it 4-3 on aggregate.
It comes as the final returns to Wembley, where Klopp’s Dortmund suffered a 2-1 loss to Bayern back in 2013 – and this time, the German will be watching as a fan.
Asked if he would be following as a supporter or a pundit, the departing Liverpool manager joked that he would only be able to “explain how to lose” if he was in the studio.
“Pundit, are you crazy?! To explain how to lose a Champions League final?” he laughed, having contested four finals and only won once, with the Reds in 2019.
“You just have to play [it] a lot to win it, apparently!
“Yeah, really happy about that. It was really cool to watch and really nice to see.
“And for all the people I know there still: big, big achievement.
“Nearly, but not in the end, 100 percent the same final as 2013, but nice story.”
Of Klopp’s side from that loss in London in 2013, only Mats Hummels and Marco Reus remain in the Dortmund squad heading into this final.
However, Sebastian Kehl is now their sporting director, Sven Bender and Nuri Sahin both serve as assistants to manager Edin Terzic and Marcel Schmelzer is part of the academy coaching staff.
There is a warm familiarity for Klopp, then, which is only extended by the presence of Emre Can, formerly of Liverpool, now being captain of Dortmund.
Klopp has already conceded that his time away from football will be spent following his old clubs, and there is a strong chance he is in attendance at Wembley on June 1.
No doubt TNT Sports will still make an offer to join the punditry team that night – though Klopp has already made it clear how he feels about that particular broadcaster!
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