Life’s a beach as Klopp kicks back with a cold beer
LIVERPOOL manager Jurgen Klopp couldn’t be more chilled out as he began his World Cup preparations yesterday – by cracking open a cool beer on the beach.
Klopp, 50, soaked up the sun in St Tropez without a care in the world.
The German was joined by wife Ulla Sandrock, a social worker and children’s writer, and a number of friends and close relatives.
He enjoyed a kick about on the beach and was spotted using an electronic cigarette after giving up smoking.
It is one of the first occasions that Klopp has been seen in public since Liverpool’s defeat in the Champions League final last month.
Klopp will watch the start of the World Cup at the upmarket resort in the south of France as he spends time with family and friends.
He is enjoying a well-earned break after a long hard season ended with his team’s 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in Kiev.
Klopp had apparently been touted by the Spanish club as a possible replacement for their manager Zinedine Zidane.
The manager couldn’t have been more relaxed on the day when the football world was rocked by the sacking of Spain boss Julen Lopetegui, 51, on the eve of the World Cup after he was named the new Real Madrid boss.
The European champions announced on Tuesday that Lopetegui would succeed Zidane at the Bernabeu on a three-year deal.
Meanwhile, World Cup holders Germany start their title defence against Mexico on Sunday – hoping to become the first nation since Brazil in 1962 to successfully defend the World Cup.