Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is stepping down at the end of the season with speculation beginning to grow as to where he’ll go next.
We caught up with Paul Lambert, a Champions League winner at Klopp’s old club Borussia Dortmund, who has picked out the job that makes the most sense for the current Liverpool manager.
Lambert also talked to us about why he feels that Harry Kane is blameless for Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga struggles, his Bundesliga title race prediction, his affinity for Borussia Dortmund and how Jadon Sancho will fare in his return to Signal Iduna Park.
Germany For Jurgen Klopp Makes Perfect Sense after Liverpool Exit
I did my Pro License with Jurgen in 2004, so I have known him for 20 years and he did terrifically well at Dortmund. Going to Liverpool, he has absolutely galvanised that place as well and whoever takes over has such a hard job.
Liverpool fans will understand that they are not going to get another Jurgen Klopp as well, that's just not going to happen. It will be the same when Pep goes for Manchester City, who replaces him?
Jurgen leaving will leave a big dent, but the fanbase will be there and there is a brilliant club there. I really don't know if Jurgen would ever go back to Dortmund, I think the German national team would be the best fit.
He would maybe want to see if he can get them rocking and rolling again because they are always a nation that, if you get it right, becomes like a tidal wave. He might want to win a trophy with the national side and work with the very best that Germany has to offer as well.
*Germany are 6/1 to win Euro 2024 according to the latest football betting at BoyleSports.
Bayern Lucky To Have Harry Kane Despite Bundesliga Struggles
He gets abuse because he doesn't have an 'I' at the end of his name, he is as prolific as the day is long. Some of his goals have been absolutely terrific as well.
It is not Harry Kane's fault that Bayern are second in the Bundesliga right now. Bayern were lucky last year to do it.
Dortmund should have never lost to Mainz on that final day, even a draw would have been enough but then Jamal Musiala scored in the last second. Bayern had the luck on that day, so maybe this is what happens when they don't perform.
Harry Kane is an unbelievable player and it's not his fault. Without him scoring their goals, they could be far worse.
Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen have what it takes to hold off Bayern in Bundesliga Title Race
I watched the game and Bayer Leverkusen were fantastic, they were bang on it. Xabi has got them playing great and they look really strong. If he can break the cycle of Bayern winning the title then it will go down as a fantastic job.
Whether or not that is going to be good enough for him to go to Liverpool remains to be seen, but he has built a really good side there. He never played with Boniface, Schick has not really played either because they have got Florian Wirtz up top as a false nine. I saw him play about three or four years ago and I knew then and there he was going to be a superstar.
The Bayern lads just couldn't cope with him; I thought they were really excellent. Five points is achievable to claw back, but the problem for Bayern is that they have played Leverkusen twice now and that's where they would have wanted to claw back the points.
Bayern could catch them, especially given how they managed last year to claw back Dortmund, but Leverkusen are in a fantastic position to finish it from here.
*Bayer Leverkusen are 4/9 favourites to win this season’s Bundesliga ahead of Bayern Munich (13/8) per the latest football betting odds at BoyleSports.
Dortmund is a nightmare away trip for any Champions League team
I think they will get past this stage of the competition and they will beat Eindhoven, even though they are absolutely flying in the domestic league. Going to Dortmund is a tough ask for anyone trying to get a result.
Since the break, Dortmund have done well even if they are sitting fourth and remain a fair few points off Bayern and Bayer.
I think they will get through, but it just depends on where the draw takes them. To win in Dortmund is tough, regardless of who you are.
Jadon Sancho will love the intensity of the ‘Fanatical’ fans again in Dortmund
I think it is about being loved and wanted. When you go to Dortmund, the colours of yellow and black are intoxicating. On matchdays, that is all you can see.
It's not like in Britain, because the fans really commit to just wearing the colours of the team. Dortmund have such a fanatical fanbase there as well.
You can go out in the city at 8 o'clock in the morning and all you can see is yellow and black everywhere. It lasts the whole day as well, a full blown celebration and a proper event. This will really suit Jadon Sancho because of how successful he was before.
‘I never wanted to leave Dortmund’
I had clubs in Spain, I had massive ones in Italy as well because we had beaten Juventus in the final as well. They were really massive offers to go over there after that game.
I also had massive offers to go to Turkey as well, so I had everywhere that I could have gone but I decided against it. I wouldn't have wanted to play for another German team either, but I could have gone anywhere.
That was probably just based on the performance of the Champions League, because I never missed a Champions League game for the club. I played all 11 of the games, including the final of course, and I never really wanted to leave the club. I only moved because of circumstances that were affecting my son and then we came back.
I've actually stood in the Yellow Wall after my playing career ended and my word. It is the best atmosphere I have ever experienced in football. The acoustics are different at Parkhead with it being an oval, but the best thing about the Signal Iduna Park is that shooting into the Yellow Wall feels like the ball gets sucked into the goal.
Paul Lambert On Roy Keane And Aftermath of Dortmund’s Champions League Semi-Final Win Over Man United
People often ask me that, and I get on really well with Roy because I worked with him at Aston Villa as well. I never thought anything of what he said after the Champions League semi-final.
I was living in another country and I didn't know much else about what he had said, I was just focusing solely on Dortmund at that special club. I was playing with guys who had won Bundesliga titles, Serie A titles and even Euro '96 just before that. There were so many incredible players at the club and they were my main concern.
I didn't need anybody to say I was playing well, as long as the manager was happy with what I was doing and my teammates, I was happy. Roy and I got on well and we had a very similar mindset of being focused and not suffering fools lightly.
I knew Roy was a great player and that Manchester United were a great team.
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