It’s official: Jurgen Klopp is to leave Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season.
He will surely be one of the most sought-after managers of recent times – so what are his options?
Manchester City
Manuel Pellegrini is well and truly under pressure and it’s a job that would surely be attractive to an ambitious manager. The City squad more or less needs ripping up and starting again, which means Klopp could mould it in his image. On the other hand, he’d have very different working circumstances to what he’s used to in Dortmund, and pressure for immediate results. And would the club be hip enough for the ultimate managerial football hipster?
Arsenal
With the way Arsenal are finishing the season, it feels like they could be on the cusp of something good, so it would be a big call for the club to move away from Wenger. Having said that, they always feel like they’re on the cusp of something good and never quite seem to get there. Maybe now’s the time for Arsenal to be bold? The club seems a great fit for Klopp, but the team less so. Either he or they would need to adapt their style.
Real Madrid
As with most managers at Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti always seems to be on shaky ground. Jobs don’t get much bigger than that one, but you can’t help feeling Klopp would prefer more of a long-term project, rather than a job in which he’s likely to face the boot in a year or two.
Take a break
Klopp said at his press conference today he wasn’t keen to take a sabbatical, but that doesn’t mean the right job will necessarily come along. We imagine he’d take time out rather than jump into the wrong job. Despite Dortmund’s struggles this season, his stock is exceptionally high so he won’t be forced to take any job he doesn’t want.
Media work
Should Klopp decide to step away from the game for a while, there would certainly be plenty of offers for a lucrative pundit’s role, both in Germany and England, where BT Sport are set to take over live Champions League broadcasting for 2015/2016.
Germany
There is certainly no vacancy at the moment – Joachim Low is contracted until 2018. But should Germany win Euro 2016, and if Klopp is still out of work at that point, it’s a move that could make sense. Low would have little left to achieve at that point.
Paris St Germain
In a way, this is just the Manchester City job rebadged like a Rover Metro. A big club, but one without the same history as a Real Madrid or a Manchester United, with lots of money and pressure to succeed immediately. Except he’d be in Paris rather than Manchester – and there’s a certain appeal to that. Klopp has previously stated his preference for working in England though, saying: “I think it’s the only country I think where I should work, next to Germany.” Maybe Laurent Blanc can rest easy.
Inter Milan
Klopp to Inter? pic.twitter.com/luZ6nhFoik
— Betfair (@Betfair) April 15, 2015
We’ve got nothing to offer except the above picture. It’s pretty strong evidence though, no?
Source: SNAPPA
