Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp received a rapturous, emotional welcome on his return to Borussia Dortmund on Thursday, the occasion marked by a spine-tingling rendition of 'You'll Never Walk Alone'.
Borussia Dortmund's midfielder Nuri Sahin (front R) and Liverpool's
German head coach Jurgen Klopp embrace after the UEFA Europe League
quarter-final, first-leg football match in Dortmund, western Germany.
The match ended with a 1-1 draw. (ODD ANDERSEN/AFP)
DORTMUND, Germany: Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp received a
rapturous, emotional welcome on his return to Borussia Dortmund on
Thursday (Apr 7), the occasion marked by a spine-tingling rendition of
'You'll Never Walk Alone'.
Around 65,000 fans of both teams filled the air in the
Westfalenstadion with the stirring hymn marking a fitting return for
Klopp who spent seven seasons at the Bundesliga club before leaving for
Anfield last year.
A smiling Klopp warmly greeted his former players as they prepared for the Europa League quarter-final, first leg clash.
'Kloppo' also smilingly saluted the Yellow Wall of Dortmund
fans, banked high behind the goal on the famous south terrace. "It's a
very special moment. I can't be unmoved by it," the 48-year-old coach
told Sky of a club where he was in charge from 2008 to 2015.
However, he admitted it was strange walking into the
visitors dressing room rather than the home side's. "I didn't know what
they looked like," he smiled although he had been there before - back in
his days as coach of fellow Bundesliga team Mainz, where he worked
between 2001 and 2008.
"I only had to remind myself when I came in right, instead of left for the dressing room," he told BT Sport.
Once 'You'll Never Walk Alone' - performed movingly inside
the cavernous arena - was completed, the track-suited Klopp embraced his
successor Thomas Tuchel as a huge group of photographers camped in
front of the dug-out.
The return of Klopp to Dortmund for the first time has
dominated sports news in Germany all week. It even rivalled Wolfsburg's
stunning 2-0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday
on television bulletins and websites.
"All the stories around, maybe the media created it a little
bit but not a Dortmund player or manager or Liverpool player or
manager," Klopp added to BT Sport.
"For the team it is not a big difference, the team only has
to think about what it has to do in the game. Dortmund are pretty good,
that's the truth, but they are beatable. The most difficult thing is
they are full, full, full of confidence."
- AFP/de
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