Jurgen Klopp turns down Bayern Munich’s goodbye flowers in favor of a fight

With Jurgen Klopp set to leave Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season, Bayern Munich, his most formidable rivals, wanted to pay tribute to him before the two sides met in the DFB Pokal semifinals. But Klopp doesn’t want their gifts. He wants a fight.

From the AFP:

Bayern had planned to present Klopp with a bouquet before kick-off after his side won the 2011 and 2012 German league titles before finishing as runners-up to Bayern for the last two seasons.

But the 47-year-old is more interested in giving Bayern a proverbial black eye than picking up floral tribute.

“It’s a very nice gesture, but on Tuesday we’ll be spoiling for a fight and we don’t want to weaken ourselves with flowers,” said Klopp.

To comply with Klopp’s wishes, executives from the two clubs agreed that the presentation should take place after the match. Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who was presented with a bouquet by Dortmund in 1984 before he left Bayern for Inter, says he respects Klopp’s position on the matter.

Giving someone a bouquet of flowers hasn’t been this difficult since the time you tried to sneak onto One Direction’s tour bus on Valentine’s Day.

Bayern ended up giving Klopp something even better than flowers, though: an astonishing four missed penalties in the shootout that decided the match, putting Dortmund in the final.

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