Marco Rose’s sour Klopp relationship, major betrayal and fan backlash | Football | Sport

Marco Rose has emerged as the new favourite to take the reins at Tottenham. The 49-year-old German has moved ahead of Roberto De Zerbi, Mauricio Pochettino and John Heitinga in the race for the vacant managerial position after Thomas Frank was dismissed on Wednesday.

Rose, whose coaching CV features spells at RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Monchengladbach, has earned recognition as an energetic, attack-minded manager. His assertive, high-pressing approach has often led to parallels with former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp. However, while their footballing principles overlap, Rose and Klopp have not consistently aligned. Indeed, friction between them erupted publicly in dramatic circumstances last year.

Soured relationship with Klopp

Some observers imagined Klopp and Rose forming an administrative dream team, yet at Leipzig the reality proved very different. Only three months joining as Global Head of Soccer at Red Bull, Klopp sanctioned Rose’s exit, abruptly ending the latter’s three-year spell with the Bundesliga outfit.

According to German publication Bild, Klopp had initially ranked among Rose’s most vocal supporters, having bought him as a player during his tenure at Mainz 05. Nevertheless, their bond is said to have weakened after a poor sequence of performances – just two victories in 11 league fixtures – that pushed Leipzig out of the Champions League qualification positions and left Klopp “unsatisfied” with Leipzig’s “sporting development” under Rose.

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Several months afterward, Klopp conceded that dismissing Rose was “a bitter pill to swallow.” In an interview with The Athletic, he remarked: “It’s not great. It will never be my hobby. But it’s things you have to do. What I want is to hire coaches for the right reasons. And if you finish working together, then it is also for the right reasons and not for the media asking for it.”

Fan backlash

Rose’s departure from Leipzig was not the first occasion he had exited a club under strained circumstances. His earlier appointment – a short-lived tenure at Dortmund – spanned just a single season, with Rose and club officials mutually deciding to separate at the end of the 2021/22 term.

Statistically, his return appeared solid. Dortmund accumulated a higher points total than in 2020/21 and jumped from third place to second in the standings. Yet many fans remained unconvinced, irritated by what they saw as inflexibility in his tactical setup.

There was a sense that the side leaned too heavily on prolific forward Erling Haaland. The framework was largely constructed to amplify the Norwegian’s qualities, but when he was unavailable – or struggling for rhythm – Dortmund frequently lacked cutting edge in the final third. Supporters criticised the absence of an effective alternative strategy, particularly considering the offensive options at hand in Jude Bellingham, Marco Reus, Thorgan Hazard, Youssoufa Moukoko and Julian Brandt.

Defensive weaknesses also remained evident. Rose was unable to fully correct the transitional vulnerabilities that had troubled the team during the reign of his predecessor, Lucien Favre, as Dortmund allowed 52 league goals – the highest figure among the top six sides.

That uneven form, combined with underwhelming cup runs – a Champions League group-stage elimination, a Europa League knockout play-off loss to Rangers, and a surprise DFB-Pokal defeat to second-division FC St. Pauli – ultimately cast a shadow over Rose’s brief spell and made his departure at season’s end seem unavoidable.

Betrayal

Rose attracted significant acclaim across his two-year period at Monchengladbach from 2019 to 2021, though the chapter concluded on a disappointing note. A fourth-place finish in his opening campaign – including eight weeks atop the Bundesliga table – established a strong initial impression.

Advancing from a Champions League group containing Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk further elevated his standing, alongside Gladbach’s bold, high-speed playing philosophy. But midway through his second year, Dortmund made their approach, and Rose agreed to assume control at the end of the campaign.

Angered by the loss of their head coach to a domestic competitor, Gladbach publicly announced his forthcoming exit – a move that unsettled the squad. The side dropped five of their subsequent six league encounters, fell out of the Champions League qualification places, then slipped from the Europa League spots and were eventually eliminated from the DFB-Pokal by Dortmund themselves.

For Rose, both the timing and the way the news was revealed felt like a betrayal. The club’s management of the episode had a measurable effect on performances, damaged his rapport with fans and left a lingering stain on what had otherwise been a highly encouraging tenure.