Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke is not a man who is scared to hide his emotions or hold back his thoughts.
The Dortmund chief is one of the more outspoken men in the football world, and so it was almost inevitable he’d have a book coming out at some point.
That’s precisely what’s happened and, quite as predictably, Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp features heavily in it.
Klopp is the longest-serving manager in the history of Dortmund, at the club for seven years between 2008 and 2015.
That period saw them win two Bundesliga titles, two German Supercups, a DFB-Pokal and finish as runners up in the Champions League in 2013.
Like at Liverpool, Klopp held a special relationship with Dortmund, particularly with Watzke, who says he believes it might have been better to change the entire squad than get rid of the German.
“You know it too: it’s better to leave now after seven years,” Jürgen said,” Watzke writes in his book, serialised by Bild.
“We did not try to change his mind anymore. But that was maybe a mistake. Perhaps it would have been better if we had exchanged the entire team – not the coach.
“Because I knew that, we would never get back such a coach. When I said goodbye, real tears came.
“Such a relationship, as I had with Jürgen over seven years at BVB, that did not exist before. And such a relationship will probably never happen again.
“This is a bit like when the children move out. You also know that it will happen at some point, but you still miss them.”
Klopp has since gone on to great success at Liverpool, transforming the club into Premier League title contenders and one of the best sides in Europe.
His four years at the club have seen the German boss earn plenty of fans off the pitch, particularly for his often brutal, if somewhat misguided, honesty.
There have been claims from rival fans that such honest is simply an act on Klopp’s part, but Watzke insists that isn’t the case.
“The most important thing in our relationship was and is that we can rely on each other blindly,” he adds.
“Jürgen never lied to me. He is always honest, even in the job. And I never lied to him.
“Even in the most difficult phase, in the season of separation, when we crashed to the last place sometime shortly before the separation in the Bundesliga, that was the case.
“That sounds so obvious when you say that, but I’ve experienced it in a different way in this business and with other coaches…”
