Monchengladbach vs Hamburger preview - Beiersdorfer regrets Klopp decision

Posted Tuesday, September 23, 2014 by PA

Hamburg's director of sport Dietmar Beiersdorfer says he still regrets the day he turned down the chance to appoint Jurgen Klopp as his club's coach.

It happened in 2008, ahead of a season which turned out to be the club's most successful in recent years, and a far cry from the struggles they have endured ever since.

It therefore did not seem such a mistake to have appointed Martin Jol instead of Klopp, although with hindsight, Beiersdorfer believes it was.

Klopp led Dortmund to back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012 while the northern Germany club languished in the lower regions of the table, salvaging their status only via a play-off last season.

"I admit I've had sleepless nights over it," Beiersdorfer told Sky Deutschland. "We'd been pretty much constantly in Europe and we opted for Martin Jol, who led us to our best season in history.

"But despite that, Jurgen Klopp has had a great coaching career and you've got to show the utmost respect for what he has done."

According to Beiersdorfer, Klopp's scruffy image with his unshaven beard and holes in his jeans convinced him he was not the right man for the job.

The man occupying that position since last week is Josef Zinnbauer, who made an impressive debut, holding Bayern Munich to a 0-0 draw on Saturday.

"Joe did a great job," Beiersdorfer said. "It came as a surprise to him, but he is fully focused and prepared the team really well.

"We've got every faith in him, but I cannot say what will happen in three months' time."

That will depend on how well Hamburg fare over the coming weeks, starting with a trip to Borussia Monchengladbach on Wednesday night.

The Foals are no pushovers, as they proved in the Rhineland derby on Sunday, extending their unbeaten start to the season with a 0-0 draw.

Their coach Lucien Favre also has plenty of options at his disposal and was able to rotate his side at the weekend after a draw in the Europa League last Thursday.

He is set to do the same again with Patrick Herrmann and Branimir Hrgota both candidates to start.