Jürgen Klopp shares incredible stories from his time at Borussia Dortmund
Work hard, play hard
Klopp’s stories dont end there. This one is perhaps even more incredible than the first which he surely will have a laugh about in the years to come. He once talked about how he woke up in a truck after Borussia Dortmund’s historic Bundesliga victory in the 2010-2011 season. In an interview with Amazon Prime (H/T: FourFourTwo) documentary for Inside Borussia Dortmund, Klopp talks about the time he woke up on a truck in a garage. Perhaps the most Klopp like story you will ever hear.
"“I was really wasted which may have been noticeable in some interviews. And I don’t remember much that makes any sense. I do remember one thing.” “I’m not sure if I ever told anyone. I actually woke up on a truck in the garage. All alone. I remember that, but I have no idea about the hours before that. I woke up, climbed out of the truck and found myself in a big factory hall. Then I walked across the yard and saw the silhouette of a man.” “So I whistled because I can whistle quite loudly and I noticed the silhouette slowed down a little. So I waited and saw Aki Watzke (Hans-Joachim Watzke, Borussia Dortmund CEO). So Aki and I were the only people on this huge yard.”"
Imagine whistling to your boss like that especially considering the state you’re in. Only someone like Jürgen Klopp could be capable of something like this. But the story gets even better.
"“Aki held up an old Mercedes on the road. It was a Turkish fella in a station wagon. And Aki says ‘Take us to the Italian’. “No I won’t drive you there. So Aki reaches into his pocket, finds 200 euros and says ‘You will.’ He sees the money, “OK”. “Aki sits in the front, I sit back. I kept slamming my head into the side, I was a little tired. And I kept hearing ‘cluck, cluck, cluck’ “What’s going on here? I thought I dreamed it. But I didn’t. The trunk was full of chickens. According to Watzke, there were also three dead rams in the car, which Jürgen, didn’t seem to take notice of at all."
Picture this. You’ve just won the club its first Bundesliga title after years and years of waiting. You party a little too hard and now you’re on your way back to Dortmund in a car full of chickens and dead rams with your CEO. Truly Jürgen like.
When it comes to the great personalities of world football there is truly nothing like Jürgen Klopp. The ex-Mainz and Borussia Dortmund man was recently crowned men’s coach of the year at the FIFA awards ceremony in Milan, Italy.
Next. Seven greatest moments of the Jürgen Klopp era at Borussia Dortmund. dark
He also joined the Common Goal organisation where coaches and players give at least 1% of their salary to change the lives of disadvantaged young people all around the world. An iconic character who will forever remain in the hearts of Borussia Dortmund fans for the years to come.