Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has stressed he does not view the Champions League last-16 tie against Bayern Munich as “a personal thing.”
The German was engaged in many a battle with Bayern during his tenure as Borussia Dortmund boss from 2008 to 2015, in which his side finished twice as Bundesliga champions and twice as runners-up behind the Bavarians.
Klopp‘s Dortmund were also beaten by Bayern in the 2012/13 Champions League final.
Ahead of Bayern’s last-16 first-leg visit to Anfield on Tuesday, the 51-year-old was asked if his history against the club made the tie any more special.
And he said: “I don’t feel like this. Obviously a couple of people called me in the last few days to say in Germany it’s going mad because of this game, but that’s how it is.Making kind of these personal battles out of it I don’t understand.
“Yes, I was manager of Dortmund and had a bit of success there, but it was always difficult to play against Bayern. To beat them was the biggest challenge you could face in German football, always. And sometimes we did it and sometimes we didn’t, but that’s pretty much all.
“So I don’t see it like a personal thing for me.“It is two big clubs facing each other and I am really happy to be part of this game. It’s a big one. It is a game you want to see.”
Klopp, whose Liverpool side were beaten by Real Madrid in last season’s Champions League final, added: “That’s maybe the biggest achievement so far for my team – that we are back not only in the competition but as well that people think we could win it. That’s good, but still, a lot of work to do.”