Ahead of the massive Champions League clash between Bayern Munich and Liverpool next week, president of the German club Uli Hoeness has recalled when current Reds boss Jurgen Klopp nearly joined the Bavarian outfit.
The year was 2008, and Klopp's star was rising having led minnows Mainz from the bottom of the second tier of German football to a successful stint in the Bundesliga. Bayern pursued the German as they attempted to fill their vacant manager's position.
An agreement was actually struck to bring him the the Allianz Arena, only for Bayern to have a last minute change of heart. They would go on to appoint Jurgen Klinsmann instead. Ahead of coming up against Klopp in midweek, Hoeness has looked back at what could have been.
Personally, I have a high opinion of Jurgen Klopp. Many years ago we agreed on a collaboration together, but we ended up signing Jürgen Klinsmann instead.
There I showed I respect him and his work a lot. It's going to be a tough task for both sides. I hope we'll come out on top.
Klinsmann would turn out to be a disastrous appointment in Munich, lasting only one season after missing on the Bundesliga title to Wolfsburg.
Klopp would of course go on to move to Borussia Dortmund, rejuvenating the club and winning two league titles during his time there. He would also reach a Champions League final in 2013, losing to the club he came so close to joining, Bayern Munich.
The case of Klopp at Bayern is very much one of what could have been. While the club have hardly suffered all that much in his absence, one has to wonder how much more success they could have experienced with the charismatic manager in charge.
They have no doubt come to regret passing up on Klopp, and he will be hoping to serve them with yet another reminder of the opportunity they missed over the next three weeks.
