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After words, it’s time for actions. January 1, 2025 marked the official inauguration of Jürgen Klopp in his role as Global Head of Soccer within the Red Bull Group. The wait was long but the German coach will gradually find the spotlight again. In an interview with the German newspaper Bild a few days before Christmas, Oliver Mintzlaff, general manager of the Red Bull group, looked behind the scenes at the arrival of Jürgen Klopp: “Over the past 20 years I have experienced, helped shape and negotiate many negotiations in football. I have to say these were the easiest with him. Not because we offered him an incredible financial package, on the contrary. We talked about the financial side for 20 seconds because he said he was up for the challenge. I hope he doesn’t hear it now, because then he will think that he and his advisor negotiated badly. But no, financially it took 20 seconds. When the yes came, it was one of the easiest negotiations I’ve had in 20 years. It took a long time. It was a very, very long process. The first idea came more than two years ago, when I first spoke about it to Jürgen.he declared. With a tailor-made new role, the former Liverpool manager will be responsible for the international network of all football clubs under the Red Bull umbrella – including Leipzig, Salzburg and the New York Red Bulls.
After this long media depression where the protagonists revolving around the Austrian brand have followed one another in the various presses to praise the merits of the German coach since the official announcement via a press release, the time has arrived to officially get down to business. work. The program already promises to be busy for the first days of the former Liverpool coach. Jürgen Klopp, who signed for five years as football boss at Red Bull last October, is to spearhead the Austrian brand and sporting success on an international scale. And if it could have been a first major symbolic appearance, Jürgen Klopp was ultimately absent on Monday during the friendly match between Bayern Munich and Red Bull Salzburg (0-6 for the Bavarians). The German tactician could have had concrete first impressions of one of the most important clubs in the Red Bull galaxy. Indeed, before his official presentation to the press scheduled for January 14, he does not wish to appear in the media and does not want to divert the interest of the clubs. The Stuttgart native has other things planned for his first days in the office. The German newspaper Bild reveals all the details of the intense month of January that awaits Jürgen Klopp.
A discreet world tour to start
Before officially taking office, Jürgen Klopp already had sporadic talks in December with Leipzig manager Marcel Schäfer, Red Bull boss Oliver Mintzlaff and his director of football Mario Gomez. For example, it was about discussing concepts and philosophy for young talents, but never concrete decisions like coach selection or player planning. The question of the future of Leipzig’s vacillating coach, Marco Rose, was never asked, for example, as he was not in official position at the time. After a ski holiday during the end-of-year holidays, Klopp went to Salzburg for the company integration organized on Monday and this very Tuesday. Then he will go to Red Bull’s German headquarters in Munich, where his closest collaborator, Mario Gomez, is based. He will be in Leipzig on January 12 for his first Bundesliga match in his role as Global Head of Soccer of the year, as RB Leizpig takes on Werder Bremen. The former Borussia Dortmund coach does not yet know if he will watch the match in person at the stadium, but he has already met Marco Rose, whom he knows from Mainz where he was his coach. January 14 is the most important date of the month since Jürgen Klopp will be presented at a press conference with great fanfare.
Things will then become even busier for Jürgen Klopp as he will embark on a world tour where he will visit a large majority of the member clubs of the Red Bull galaxy. Indeed, at the end of the month, he will make a first stop in São Paulo to meet the Brazilian club RB Bragantino. Subsequently, Klopp will continue with the United States to visit the daily life of the New York Red Bulls who will face the San Diego club in California in a friendly. In mid-February, his plane will stopover in Tokyo, Japan to meet the Omiya Ardija club, which has just been promoted to the second division. A visit to Paris FC is also planned, where Red Bull holds a minority stake alongside the Arnault Family. Only Leeds United, with Red Bull being the main sponsor and minority owner, do not want Jürgen Klopp due to his close past with the Liverpool club. Peacocks management fears a conflict of interest. On his return to Europe, Jürgen Klopp will have to design his team of collaborators with the advice of Marc Kosicke, who in the past recommended Ralf Rangnick, Max Eberl and Julian Nagelsmann to Oliver Mintzlaff.
