Ten years ago, Kevin Großkreutz and Jonas Hofmann clashed. The 2014 world champion has now spoken about the action – and how Klopp reacted.
Großkreutz reported that he was put on the bench by Klopp for a game and that he was angry about it. That’s why his mood at substitute training the next day wasn’t good.
“I gave him a slap in the face”
Großkreutz explains: “Jonas Hofmann got on my nerves a bit at four-on-four. He kept trying to dribble and make fun of me a bit. I was in a bad mood anyway and then I went a bit crazy and gave him a slap in the face.”
This in turn shocked Klopp, who reacted at the time: “Jürgen went crazy and sent me in. Then I went crazy further and shot the ball against the boards and so on because I was just angry that I didn’t play.”
Großkreutz: “Kloppo was shouting”
That pissed Klopp off again, as Großkreutz says: “Kloppo shouted about what that was about and so on. It’s clear, it’s rubbish, you don’t do it.”
However, Großkreutz emphasized that he has a good relationship with Hofmann today. Großkreutz, now 35, played for Borussia Dortmund from 2009 to 2015. Hofmann is currently under contract with Bayer Leverkusen.