Dubai: Germany legend Oliver Bierhoff has tipped compatriot Jurgen Klopp to make drastic changes at his new club Liverpool.
The former Borussia Dortmund manager replaced sacked Northern Irishman Brendan Rodgers at Anfield earlier this month and drew his first game in charge of the Reds 0-0 away to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
Speaking on the sidelines of Gitex Technology Week at Dubai World Trade Centre on Tuesday, Bierhoff, 47 — who was at the event to deliver a speech on how technology had impacted on sport — backed Klopp to succeed in the English Premier League.
“I’m sure he will make a drastic change and I’m optimistic for the future,” said the former striker, who is now business manager for the 2014 Fifa World Cup-winning Germany national team. “He’s a great coach with high motivation, I know him personally quite well and I know he would only accept one club and this was Liverpool, he loves it.”
However, Bierhoff, who scored 37 goals in 70 appearances for Germany between 1996 and 2002, warned the transition would take time.
“I have experience in other countries like Italy and France,” he said in reference to spells at AC Milan and Monaco between 1998 and 2002. “And often you have to give some time also for a player or a coach to understand other football.”
Bierhoff added that Klopp would be sorely missed in Germany after leading Dortmund to two Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012 and the 2013 Uefa Champions League final, where they lost 2-1 to Bayern Munich, during a seven-year spell in charge from 2008 to 2015.
“He’s a big loss for the Bundesliga. He built a great thing at Dortmund over seven years, they were really, really down when he took over, but with his mentality, philosophy and work, bringing all the people together really helped a lot.
“He was one of the most famous coaches in Germany. For us it’s a loss but on the other side it’s an appreciation for the German education that a coach like him is in a big club like Liverpool and hopefully his experience there will help him become a better coach.”
Asked if Klopp had the potential to one day lead the Germany national team, Bierhoff replied: “Well, as a coach in his category for sure, but it depends on the coach’s side also and if they want to work on a daily basis [with a club] or are satisfied to work for a national team.
“As I understand from him, he still has the feeling to be involved every day on the field and I heard also from him that he was happy to be back on the training pitch with the players after five months of doing nothing [since leaving Dortmund at the end of last season].”
Regarding the Germany national team, Bierhoff, who famously scored the golden goal to win the 1996 European Championships in England, added that, after their 2014 World Cup win, they shouldn’t get complacent ahead of next summer’s Euros in France.
“After our last World Cup win in 1990, [then coach] Franz Beckenbauer said we will now be unbeatable for the next ten years because East and West Germany had come together and we would have new players.
“But for ten years we were sleeping, patting ourselves on the back thinking that we were the best. We woke up ten years later in 2000 and saw that everyone had passed us.
“This doesn’t have to happen again. We want to create an era where the Germany national team is like Spain of the last eight years. We took over and have to now have the mentality to still get the last percentage out and continue to be the best.
“But I don’t think that it’s only about the next tournament. It’s important to think on a daily basis and not lay back and think that we’ve arrived but look at new projects and how to develop our football. The next four to six years is very important.”
