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Klopp denies talks with Bayern Munich

SoccerNews in English Premier League 10 Oct 2015

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New Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has denied holding talks with Bayern Munich prior to his move to Anfield.

The former Borussia Dortmund head coach held his first Liverpool press conference on Friday after signing a three-year deal to succeed Brendan Rodgers, who was sacked following the derby draw with Everton.

Speculation had arisen that Klopp had been sounded out to replace Pep Guardiola at Bayern, with the former Barcelona boss now in the final year of his contract at the Allianz Arena.

Klopp, however, insists he only ever held talks with Liverpool despite receiving offers from elsewhere, telling Sky in Germany: “I don’t know anything about that [the Bayern rumours] and this is not relevant to me.

“Bayern are a fantastic club but I don’t go on holidays and wait for someone to call me. I have done many things that I found interesting and exciting and I have used the time to meet loads of great people and I would have met many more.

“I never had a certain career plan and I can assure you that I never talked to Bayern Munich. I also hope that Guardiola will stay there for another 10 years.

“I didn’t want to coach many clubs. Of course I had concrete offers but Liverpool is the only club I have actually spoken to.”

Klopp impressed a number of former Liverpool favourites with his opening press conference, including Jamie Carragher and Kenny Dalglish, and the 48-year-old hopes to transmit the same sense of positivity to his players.

“Normally, I don’t think about press conferences and go there and just say what has to be said,” he explained. “This time I had to think about it a little bit, but I think it went well.

“During the press conference I tried to make clear that the right expectations are able to change everything. If you have the right expectation everything will fall into place. Having the wrong one can prohibit this.

“There is a lot of pressure on Liverpool and I am aware of that difficulty. A very important reason why I have taken this job is because I am bent on taking this challenge and because I am keen on seeing what can be done and what cannot.

“I also fancied working abroad and I was up for a change. I am really, really happy here.

“There won’t be any problem with the players as there are also loads of foreign players. My English is probably as bad as theirs so they will understand me a lot easier.

“And also, as I am not a native speaker, I won’t just start talking random stuff, because I will have to make an effort in order to be understood. It is not important to be fluent in a language. It is important to say the right words at the right time.”

Klopp described himself as “the Normal One” on Friday and the ex-Mainz boss was eager to explain his meaning.

“There will be many people back in Germany questioning that sentence … But yes, that is how I am and it is quite important to me,” Klopp said.

“Of course, the things at this club haven’t been too catastrophic so far. The main thing is that the last years in total haven’t been working out too well, even before Brendan Rodgers. And it was not easy for my colleagues here to show that they are on a good way. This is why the thirst for a change was so big and this is why they had to take the measurements they did.

“But this doesn’t mean that I will arrive here and change everything in the first season saying from now on we will do it as we have done it so far.

“I am so keen on listening to the people here, getting to know them and getting used to everything. And after that I will ideally press the right buttons. I have already said that I don’t see myself as almighty. I am far away from being ‘the special one’.”

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