Jurgen Klopp BETRAYS German soccer fans

 

That might sound like an alarmist headline. "Jurgen Klopp 'BETRAYS' German soccer fans." But after reading what Klopp just did, you might agree with me and countless German soccer fans that his recent action is rather treacherous to the culture of German soccer. 

If you haven't heard the news, Klopp has taken on a new role as Head of Global Soccer at Red Bull, effective January 1, 2025. This is his first appointment since stepping down at the end of last season from a hugely successful spell in charge of Premier League giants Liverpool FC.

On the surface, it may not seem like a big deal. But German soccer fans are irate! Even fans of Dortmund FC, the club that Klopp coached to a Champions League final back in 2013, are particularly are in dismay over his decision to advice the Red Bull organization. 

Ask any Dortmund fan how they feel about his appointment at Red Bull, and they'd describe it as a stab in the back. Perhaps a worse betrayal than coaching their arch rivals, Bayern Munich.

The casual soccer fan might claim that Dortmund fans are just "butthurt" that their once beloved coach is now working for a rival club. However, his treachery goes beyond a club rivalry. Klopp just angered an entire nation of soccer fans with his move to the Red Bulls.  

GERMANY'S 50+1 RULE

So why do most Germans hate anything related to the Red Bull organization? Well it is the manner in which they have loopholed themselves through Germany's "50+1" rule. That is, German clubs require the fans to essentially have 51% voting rights on the direction of the club. 

Thus the fans are heavily engaged in a way their clubs are run. That's a major reason why German football ticket prices are amongst the cheapest in European soccer. As a fan, of course you'd want the lowest ticket prices possible, right? I bet Toronto Maple Leaf fans wish they had the same sway on how their organization is run!

Because of the 50+1 rule, German clubs are renowned for their clubs being owned and operated by the fans. The Red Bull organization is the complete antithesis to this Bundesliga culture. So for Klopp to not only support a rival, but give this corporate machine the wisdom of what the German league imparted to him... well, it's seen as treacherous to not just Dortmund but German football as a whole.

That is why Red Bull the most hated team in Germany. It's not because of their success or club rivalries. It's because of how they skirted the 50+1 rule in the most corporate way possible. Red Bull bought the Leipzig club back in 2009, when it was in the lower divisions of the German league (or Bundesliga). 

With great scouting and coaching — and a budget much bigger than their lower league rivals — they moved up the divisions rather quickly. They even gave teams in the top league a run for their money, including Bayern Munich who have had a stranglehold on the top league for at least a decade. 

But Red Bull has skirted that 50+1 rule rather nefariously. Dortmund FC fans for example have roughly 140,000 fans amongst its "board members", who have voting say on the direction of their club. Red Bull have 17. And those 17 are Red Bull employees.

To top it off, the cost of membership for these voting rights is generally about 50 euros annually, give or take, for other clubs. For Red Bull, it's 800 euros! As a result, they are considered Germany's most hated soccer club. There have been several protests, some violent, over the Red Bull's takeover. Dresden FC fans once threw a severed bull's head onto the pitch, metaphorically displaying their dismay over the Red Bull bullish (pun intended) ways. 

Even to this day, many fans of other clubs refuse to travel to Leipzig for away games, as a financial protest to their presence in their beloved league. Many Leipzig games have empty seats. Regardless, on the pitch, the club is rather successful.

IS THE HATE JUSTIFIED?

You might think that I, myself, am being a hater. Far from it. I loved Klopp! I'm a devout Liverpool fan. He was an absolute gem of a head coach. I was gutted when he decided to quit Liverpool because "he was running out of energy". This coming from a coach who was as high energy as they come. He even described his football philosophy as "heavy metal football". 

It was "heavy metal". Klopp's goal was to disorient the opposition with endless pressing and counter pressing. His favorite stat is whether or not his team could outrun the opposition. More times than not, that was the case. The opposition would sometimes capitulate to his team's pressing, and his tremendous aura. Watch any YouTube video on Klopp's aura to see why he was special. 

Now that aura has been diminished greatly after his appointment at Red Bull. We were all expecting him to lead the German national team, not give sage advice to a corporate Red Bull machine that is not even headquartered in Germany.

It's a pretty big deal that Klopp is now advising this global syndicate. Klopp was renowned as the "normal one", a man of the people. His persona was devoid of ego. And his passionate touchline presence showed that he was a fan himself! The biggest cheerleader of the clubs he ran. His decision to now advice the Red Bull organization is dumbfounding, especially since he is a rather wealthy individual after his years of success at Dortmund and Liverpool.

That about sums it up. If you'd like to chat more about soccer with me, you can find me on Instagram at Ehsan.Abdi84.