EX-LIVERPOOL assistant manager Zeljko Buvac has admitted that he didn’t congratulate Jurgen Klopp after the German won the Premier League title last season.
And the Bosnian-Serb, dubbed as ‘The Brain’ during his time at Anfield, also claimed that he ‘did the job of a manager’ while working for Klopp.
Former pals Buvac and Klopp worked together at Anfield between 2015 and 2018Credit: Getty – Contributor
Klopp and Buvac made their names across Europe while at DortmundCredit: AFP – Getty
Buvac, 59, left Anfield back in April 2018 – just days before a crunch Champions League clash with Roma.
He had worked under Klopp for 17 years as assistant at Mainz, Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool.
But now sporting director at Dynamo Moscow, Buvac admitted that they had drifted apart.
When asked over whether he’d contacted Klopp after his amazing title success, he told Russian journalist Nobel Arustamyan in a now deleted video: “I didn’t.
“I was happy for Liverpool, for the fans, for the players. But I didn’t.”
Aside from that, Buvac also believed that it was ‘his team’.
He continued: “I did the job of a manager, except speaking in public and giving interviews.
“Apart from that, I had all the functions and tried to influence my team as much as I could to help them succeed. But I didn’t need that kind of attention.
The duo’s relationship is believed to have become strainedCredit: PA:Empics Sport
“I don’t want to be a manager now. If Barcelona calls me then of course I’ll think about it but otherwise no.
“You say I’m here just to stay occupied and wait for a better chance. But if you knew what kind of offers I had rejected during the pause in my career you wouldn’t have said that. But I won’t tell you which clubs.”
Having played alongside each other at Mainz in the early nineties, Klopp and Buvac had struck up a strong bond.
Speaking in 2016, the latter said: “As players there was a direct connection straight away,
“Both of us were looking to become managers and we promised each other, ‘If I am the first manager, I will take you and if you are the first manager you will take me.’ He came first. It is a friendship.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
