Klopp signals he has reached end of the road at Dortmund

April 15, 2015

Klopp signals he has reached end of the road at Dortmund

FRANKFURT: Jürgen Klopp has asked to leave Borussia Dortmund in the summer and confrimed a parting of the ways at a press conference.

The 47-year-old has a contract until 2018 but had asked the Dortmund ceo Hans-Joachim Watzke to stand down three years early.

The club spent almost the entire first half of the season in the relegation zone and although results have improved since the winter break, the campaign has been a huge disappointment for a club used to challenging for honours.

Last month’s elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Juventus further cemented the feeling that the club was stagnating.

Klopp arrived from Mainz seven years ago and has won the Bundesliga title twice and the German cup once. They were also runners-up in the Champions League to rivals Bayern Munich in 2013.

He said: “I always said in that moment where I believe I am not the perfect coach anymore for this extraordinary club I will say so.”I really think the decision is the right one. This club deserves to be coached from the 100% right manager.”

Referring to the departures of Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski to Bayern Munich over the past two summers, he added: “I chose this time to announce it because in the last few years some player decisions were made late and there was no time to react.”

Klopp has frequently been linked with Premier League clubs, including Manchester United before the appointment of Louis van Gaal, Arsenal during lean spells at the Emirates, and latterly with defending champions Manchester City.

Bild has suggested that Thomas Tuchel, who replaced Klopp at Mainz, is favourite to take over in the summer. Tuchel was offered the Hamburg job this week but turned it down.

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Klopp signals he has reached end of the road at Dortmund

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