Bundesliga
Marco Rose welcomes Jürgen Klopp reunion
RB Leipzig head coach Marco Rose says Jürgen Klopp's appointment of Head of Global Soccer at Red Bull will be of benefit to all concerned with the Bundesliga club.
Klopp officially began work in his new role on 1 January, but it's as a coach that he has built his stellar reputation. After transforming the fortunes of a Mainz team that included Rose, the now 57-year-old German famously led Borussia Dortmund to back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012, before winning the English Premier League and UEFA Champions League during an eight-and-a-half-year reign at Liverpool.
Less than six months after resigning from his position at the Anfield helm at the end of the 2023/24 season, Klopp signed terms with Red Bull to oversee the Austrian company's international network of football clubs and advise them on playing philosophy, transfer strategy and coaching development.
Watch: Jürgen Klopp - made in Bundesliga
Rose, for one, is relishing the prospect of learning from his former Mainz mentor once again.
"I've left Kloppo alone so far, but now the holidays are over. It's time to get going," he told the Leipzig website as Die Roten Bullen resumed team training following German football's customary winter break.
"We're looking forward to his network, to his experience, to him as a guy. You can talk about systems, about philosophy, about so many things, dealing with squads, squad sizes, everything that goes with it. It's always good to get new input and learn something new. Even at 48 and with my experience as a coach, I want to develop further."
Rose has overseen 180 Bundesliga matches since swapping the Red Bull Salzburg dugout for Borussia Mönchengladbach in summer 2019. He spent two seasons at the Foals and one with Dortmund, before taking over at Leipzig ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.
Under Rose's watch, Leipzig have secured successive top-four finishes in the Bundesliga whilst winning the 2022/23 DFB Cup and 2024 Supercup. Although already eliminated from the revamped Champions League, they are currently fourth in the Bundesliga and have a DFB Cup quarter-final with Wolfsburg to come.
"We've earned our position in the table, despite the tricky time we've had," Rose observed prior to his side's year-opening fixture with Werder Bremen on 12 January. "We're out of the Champions League, but play at home in the DFB Cup quarters. Our aim in that competition is to go as far as we can, and then also qualify for the Champions League again."