Jurgen Klopp Confirms He Has Not Been in Contact With Former Assistant Zeljko Buvac
Jurgen Klopp confirmed on Monday that he had not been in contact with his former assistant manager Zeljko Buvac to discuss Liverpool's Champions League opponents Red Star Belgrade.
Bosnian Serb Buvac served as Klopp's assistant at three separate clubs between 2001 and 2018 but he took an extended leave of absence in April after rumours of a falling out between the pair.
Known as 'The Brain' for his tactical contributions, Buvac has a widespread knowledge of European football, but Klopp said that he had not picked the 57-year-old's mind ahead of Tuesday's match in Belgrade.
"No, we didn't speak about it," Klopp said at his pre-match press conference, quoted by the Liverpool Echo.
Buvac is still under contract at Liverpool as the Reds continue to negotiate his exit.
Meanwhile, Klopp also discussed his decision to leave Xherdan Shaqiri at home. The Kosovo-born Swiss international could have been a target for Red Star fans, particularly after his politically-motivated celebration against Serbia at the World Cup.
"We came here as a football team, representing one of the biggest clubs in the world. We are here to play football and we want to focus on that," said Klopp.
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"We decided not to bring Shaqiri. He's our player and he will play a lot of games for us but not tomorrow. That's all."
Liverpool won the first match between the two sides 4-0 at Anfield, but Vladan Milojevic's side haven't lost at home in over a year. Arsenal were the last team to win at the Rajko Mitic Stadium, doing so in last season's Europa League group stage.
