I'm envious of Japan, the strongest in Asia! Son Heung-min failed to recruit, the worst mistake in my life, Klopp's influence expanded, satisfied with the development

Jul 23, 2025

I'm envious of Japan, the strongest in Asia! Son Heung-min failed to recruit, the worst mistake in my life, Klopp's influence expanded, satisfied with the development
사진=오미야



I'm envious of Japan, the strongest in Asia! Son Heung-min failed to recruit, the worst mistake in my life, Klopp's influence expanded, satisfied with the development
It is definitely a good thing for Japanese soccer to be able to receive the leadership of a world-class master.

Japanese media Soccer King released an interview with Klopp on the 22nd. Klopp is working as the head of global football at Red Bull Football Group, which is run by beverage company Red Bull after completing his career at Liverpool.

Currently, there are numerous clubs in the Red Bowl Football Group, from RB Leipzig in the German Bundesliga to Red Bull Salzburg in Austria. There is also a Japanese club. In 2024, he acquired both the men's and women's teams of Omiya Ardiza, a Japanese J-League 2 club.




Manager Klopp is in charge of planning the long-term future of Red Bull-affiliated clubs and even helps develop coaching staff belonging to Red Bull-affiliated clubs. When he announced the signing of Klopp from Red Bull, he would be in charge of Red Bull's international football club network. He will present a strategic vision and help individual sports directors develop their Red Bull philosophy. It will also support Red Bull's global scouting activities and contribute to the training and development of coaches.'"
I'm envious of Japan, the strongest in Asia! Son Heung-min failed to recruit, the worst mistake in my life, Klopp's influence expanded, satisfied with the development
Klopp has been a frequent visitor to Japan since working for Red Bull. He visited Omiya to watch the game in the opening game of the J League 2 in the 2025 season, and is actively exchanging with Japanese soccer while visiting again this time. Klopp said "We've already made a number of changes, and we've improved a lot. Yesterday, I inspected the academy, and it was great that even a small change could have made a big impact, and the atmosphere completely changed. However, this is just the beginning, and we are dreaming bigger dreams." He praised the possibility of Japanese soccer's development.

Coach Klopp met not only youth players but also adult players and Omiya's coaching staff. He said "I spoke briefly with some players and had a brief meeting with the manager as well. When I'm in the field, I talk about many things as I always do. From a football standpoint, it's a great development. Overall, I am satisfied with my schedule in Japan because I am showing positive development."
I'm envious of Japan, the strongest in Asia! Son Heung-min failed to recruit, the worst mistake in my life, Klopp's influence expanded, satisfied with the development
사진=오미야
He then said "It's a huge opportunity for Omiya and Red Bull to get involved. Being able to participate in a very special project here, which is a really interesting region, country and continent. I want to focus on the academy and pour out my passion, affection and creativityI had really high expectations for the soccer project in Japan.

If Japan, which has already developed the most in Asia in terms of soccer, can develop further through exchanges with Klopp, the gap with Korean soccer will widen further. The reality is that the gap between Korea and Japan is already widening from the youth level. Recently, Korea was humiliated for the first time in the history of the Korea-Japan national team as well.




Klopp coached a lot of Japanese players throughout his career. He is also a coach who has affection for Son Heung-min. Even after leaving Liverpool, he regretted the failure to recruit Son Heung-min. In 2022 "One of the biggest mistakes of my life is not signing Son Heung-min", he also said.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.