Liverpool legend Roberto Firmino opened up on Zeljko Buvac’s “strange” exit from Liverpool.
The Bosnian coach, 62, was the long-time assistant of Jurgen Klopp, initially assembly the Reds boss in Germany the place they spent three years as team-mates at Mainz.
Following the top of his soccer profession, Buvac managed Neukirchen for 3 years earlier than returning to Mainz as Klopp’s assistant in 2001 as they spent seven years on the German aspect.
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The pair then joined Borussia Dortmund in 2008 and spent one other seven years on the membership having led them to consecutive Bundesliga titles and a Champions League last in 2013.
Their fruitful partnership continued as Klopp grew to become the brand new supervisor of Liverpool in 2015 as Buvac and fellow assistant Peter Krawietz adopted the German to Anfield.
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Buvac was extremely regarded by Klopp who described the Bosnian because the “brains” of his groups, Krawietz because the “eyes”, and himself because the “heart”. However, their partnership got here to an abrupt finish in 2018 when Buvac left Liverpool on the eve of a Champions League conflict with Roma.
The purpose given by the membership for his departure was as a result of ‘private causes’ however the lack of clarification, particularly earlier than a European semi-final conflict, left followers and even the gamers baffled, in keeping with Firmino, who opened in regards to the shock exit in his new guide, Si Senor: My Liverpool Years.
“Klopp’s right-hand man, Zeljko was the one who actively participated in training, organising everything and leading sessions,” the Brazilian wrote. “His departure in 2018 was a bit unusual for all of us; no one understood what occurred.
(Image: Getty Images)
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“To this day, we don’t know and we haven’t heard from Zeljko. The rumours at the time were that they had clashed over some signing. Honestly, I never asked the boss about it.”
Since his exit, Buvac grew to become the sporting director at Dinamo Moscow in 2020 however left the position in 2024 to tackle a training position at Hallescher, a third-tier German membership.