LONDON • Jurgen Klopp had nine wins, three draws and 10 losses as Borussia Dortmund manager while battling Bayern Munich for supremacy in Germany until 2015.
The six-time defending Bundesliga champions were happy to see the back of the man who denied them two titles from 2010-12 when he left for Liverpool. Klopp and Bayern will renew their rivalry, for the first time since leaving his homeland, in the last 16 of the Champions League after the teams were drawn against each other yesterday.
The Reds are the current form side and sit atop the Premier League, while Bayern, under new coach Niko Kovac, have fallen short of their own high standards in the Bundesliga, nine points off table-toppers Dortmund in third.
But Klopp knows that anything can happen between now and the first leg at home on Feb 12 and, given Bayern's pedigree as fellow five-time winners, there can be no writing off what he called "a top side".
He said yesterday: "Difficult. Good draw. It was clear it would be difficult. For me, it's nice, going to Germany. But it's just the draw.
"So we have now time to prepare the game, a lot of time obviously and, hopefully, we have all our (injured) players available then. It will be a tough one, an interesting one, and I am looking forward to it."
The German claimed his history with Bayern would not make a "big, massive difference" as circumstances have changed since their last meeting in a friendly last year.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW FOR LAST 16
 Schalke (Ger) v Manchester City (Eng)Â
Atletico Madrid (Esp) v Juventus (Ita)Â
Manchester United (Eng) v Paris Saint-Germain (Fra)
Tottenham (Eng) v Borussia Dortmund (Ger)
Lyon (Fra) v Barcelona (Esp)
Roma (Ita) v Porto (Por)
Ajax (Ned) v Real Madrid (Esp)Â
Liverpool (Eng) v Bayern Munich (Ger)
1st leg: Feb 12/13 and 19/20Â
2nd leg: March 5/6 and 12/13
"This is a different Bayern than what I played, we are already here for three years and since the Audi Cup (last year). We all know the stadium, the atmosphere will be great," he added. "We obviously know more about German football than any league, that's true but, in the end, the boys have to decide it on the pitch. Let's give it a try."
The 51-year-old also felt the pairing was the pick of the knockout stage as it "100 per cent" represented a clash between "two of the world's biggest clubs".
Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic was equally enthused about the draw, insisting the visit to Anfield would be "something to look forward to as a player".
He said of the Reds: "A tough cookie. That's the team of the hour, the league leaders in England, they are playing really good football, very physical, really stepping it up. We are looking forward to it."
If a beleaguered Jose Mourinho and his Manchester United were hoping for respite from their league travails in Europe, they failed to find it after landing French champions Paris Saint-Germain for the first time in a competitive fixture in the other glamour tie of the round.
The Red Devils face a formidable task against a side featuring Neymar and Kylian Mbappe - the world's two most expensive footballers - but PSG boss Thomas Tuchel refused to be lulled into a false sense of security surrounding the opposition's poor domestic form this season.
Â
Â
"It's always difficult to play Manchester United," said the German.
"They have lots of experience in this competition, they've won it numerous times. It's always difficult to play at Old Trafford, a big challenge. It's the same thing against Mourinho, you must have respect."
In other notable ties, three-time defending champions Real Madrid were pitted against Ajax, Manchester City against Schalke and Atletico Madrid against Juventus.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Sport24 - Iran coach Carlos Queiroz said Friday that he was "honoured" to be courted by Colombia, who want the former Real Madrid boss to join them after the Asian Cup. But the Portuguese, who has been Iran coach for eight rollercoaster years, insisted that he remains committed to bringing
Iran coach Queiroz set for Colombia switch after Asian Cup
BERLIN (REUTERS) - Premier League's Watford were made to sweat to beat lowly Championship club Queens Park Rangers 1-0 on Friday (Feb 15) and book their spot in the FA Cup quarter-finals for the
Watford squeeze past QPR into FA Cup last eight - Reuters
China strips South Korea of football trophy for 'indecent' celebrations A South Korean player caused uproar in China after he was pictured with his foot on the Panda Cup. AFP/STR
China strips South Korea of football trophy for 'indecent
Ex-United star denies homophobia after spat with PSG. PSG condemned "Patrice Evra's homophobic insults aimed at us on social media" after a bizarre spat in which Evra used the French word
Football: Patrice Evra denies homophobia after social media
The ABC TV comedy series, The Chaser's War on Everything, has sparked controversy yet again - this time by mocking terminally-ill children. During the show, the comedy troupe poked fun at child
Amazon courts controversy again, sells toilet seat covers
LONDON • Eden Hazard's future at Chelsea seems to be in severe doubt after the forward admitted that he has come to a decision about his next step, with a move to Real Madrid thought to be his
'I think it's goodbye': Hazard ready to leave Chelsea after
Pochettino 'happy' there's less focus on Spurs, Football News
Two goals from Marko Arnautovic and Ryan Fredericks's first Premier League strike helped West Ham beat Southampton 3-0 at the London Stadium. Home football; Arnautovic ends drought as West
Arnautovic ends drought as West Ham sink Southampton
Fulham 1-0 Cardiff: Ryan Babel's superb strike leaves Cardiff on brink of relegation Report and highlights as Fulham win third game in succession
Babel strike leaves Cardiff on brink of relegation - Football
David Beckham salutes LA Galaxy and Los Angeles as statue
Audit shows a record 3.572 billion people watched the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ Figure includes those who watched TV at home, out of home or on digital platforms The final was seen live by a
Almost Half Of The World's Population Watched The FIFA World
Football: Search for missing Cardiff City's Emiliano Sala resumes in English Channel في January 23, 2019 sport, LONDON (REUTERS) - The scan for Cardiff City's new football star, Emiliano Sala, continued on Wednesday (Jan 23) 36 hours after the light flying machine he was flying on vanished in the English Channel.
Emiliano Sala missing plane: Search for Cardiff City's record
Solskjaer unimpressed as United ease past Reading in FA Cup. takes a shot but fails to score during the English FA Cup third round match against Reading at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Solskjaer unimpressed as United ease past Reading in Cup
Chelsea were given a fright by Slavia Prague in a 4-3 home win on Thursday that saw them to a 5-3 aggregate victory and a place in the semi-finals of the Europa League. Already 1-0 up from the
Chelsea vs Slavia Prague result, Europa League 2019 report
Football News -LONDON (AFP) - Jurgen Klopp has vowed that Liverpool will remain positive as they battle for the Premier League title despite a wobble that has enabled Manchester City to seize the
Liverpool staying positive despite blip, says Klopp - World
worldsoccertalk.com/2019/03/05/liverpool-staying-positive-despite-blip-says-klopp/
Liverpool staying positive despite blip, says Klopp AFP March 5, 2019 AFP No Comments London (AFP) - Jurgen Klopp has vowed that Liverpool will remain positive as they battle for the Premier League title despite a wobble that has enabled Manchester City to seize the initiative.
Liverpool staying positive despite blip, says Klopp -football
0 Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen