ILKAY GUNDOGAN revealed a raging Jurgen Klopp once shouted ‘do whatever the f*** you want’ at him in an explosive Borussia Dortmund training ground row.
The Manchester City midfielder, 30, worked under the now-Liverpool boss at Signal Iduna Park between 2011 and 2015.
And while they enjoyed plenty of success on the pitch – winning the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and reaching the Champions League final – they also had a few fiery moments behind the scenes.
Dortmund players had a rule they had to inform the club doctor if they had any niggles or slight pains to avoid injuries – but when he woke up with a tight hamstring he decided against reporting it because he thought it would be fine.
Writing for The Players’ Tribune, Gundogan said: “I once managed to make Jurgen Klopp angry. Like, really angry. It was in my second season at Dortmund. We were trailing in the Bundesliga, but we had a shot at the Champions League.
“An hour before training, just to be sure, I asked the doctor to take a look at my hamstring.
“Jurgen came in and he was not happy. I was trying to find a way out of it, even though I knew I was wrong. Jurgen kept saying that we couldn’t take any risks. I kept saying that I could train.
“And then he snapped. You know when he gets these intense eyes and grits his teeth?
“He gave me that look and shouted, ‘DO WHATEVER THE F*** YOU WANT TO DO!’ Then he slammed the door behind him.
“About half an hour later, I put my boots on and walked on to the pitch. Jurgen came up next to me. I was expecting a lecture, but he put his arm around me.
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“He said, ‘My friend, do you know why I was so angry? I just care about you. And I don’t want you to get injured.’ Then he gave me a big hug.
“I was shocked. We had had this fight, and now he was talking to me the way a father might talk to his son.
“That showed me what kind of person he is: very emotional, of course, but also very open and honest.
“Jurgen taught me a lesson that day: Always try to be honest. Both with others and yourself.”
Born and raised in Germany to Turkish parents, Gundogan considers himself to have dual nationality.
But that has led to difficulties with Germans ‘surprised how good my German is’ and Turks ‘question how Turkish I really am’.
And the racism continued when he signed for Dortmund and started looking to buy a house.
The 45-cap German international said: “When I arrived at Dortmund, I thought I was prepared for anything. I was wrong. I’ll never forget what happened.
“I was looking for an apartment in the city, and I overheard these people talking about me.
“They would say, ‘Have you seen his name? Gündoğan. That’s Turkish. Do you really think he can afford it?’
“I mean … what the f***. Where do you even start with that?
“Of course, once I told them that I was a footballer, their tone changed completely, ‘Oh sir, please come in, have a look. Anything we can do to help, let us know.’
“And these people were immigrants themselves! It was just so sad.”
Gundogan spent five seasons at Dortmund but was ready to move on in 2016 and linked up with Pep Guardiola at the Etihad, enjoying a stunning 2020-21 campaign.
They are actually neighbours in their city apartments and Gundogan’s friend took a bottle of champagne and a card round for the manager’s birthday.
The midfielder continued: “About half an hour later, there was a knock on the door. I was like, ‘Who the f*** is this?’ I thought my friend had ordered pizza or something.
“My friend opened the door, and it was Pep! He said, ‘Where’s Gundo?’
“We were both really surprised because Pep is such a private guy. We had seen him around in the elevator and stuff, but he had never been in my apartment.
“He had brought the champagne bottle and three glasses. He ended up staying for an hour just to chill.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
