Reds boss Klopp was Mainz head coach in the early 2000s when Saints boss Hasenhuttl was still an active player.
Ahead of Liverpool’s Premier League encounter with Southampton, Reds manager Jurgen Klopp has shared a revelation involving opposite number Ralph Hasenhuttl.
Back in the early 2000s, Klopp was already embarking on his managerial career, his first such job coming at German club Mainz 05 in 2001.
Hasenhuttl, meanwhile, remained active as a footballer until 2004, finishing his playing career at Bayern Munich II in the Regionalliga Süd.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Klopp admitted that when he was at Mainz he considered bringing Hasenhuttl to the club.
“I thought about signing him as a back-up striker for different situations when I was manager at Mainz,” Klopp is quoted by Sky Sports News as saying. “That would have been funny!”
After hanging up his boots in 2004, Hasenhuttl embarked on his coaching career, his first job coming in 2007 at SpVgg Unterhaching.
Stints at VfR Aalen and Ingolstadt 04 followed before getting his big break at RB Leipzig in 2016, with two successful years there preceding his switch to the Premier League.
“Each little step in his managerial career, he has really worked hard for and deserves all the praise for it,” added Klopp. “It was a smart decision by Southampton to go for him.”
Klopp and Hasenhuttl will be in opposing dugouts on Friday night as the Reds travel to St Mary’s Stadium to kick off the weekend’s Premier League action.
Liverpool currently sit second in the table, just one point behind Manchester City, while Southampton are five points clear of the bottom three in 16th place.
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