Ex-Dortmund Manager Jurgen Klopp Shocked by Team’s Bus Explosion, Feared For Friends

Jurgen Klopp has admitted that he was incredibly shocked by the Borussia Dortmund bus that exploded Tuesday evening en route to the team’s Champions League home game against Monaco.

Jurgen Klopp Comments On Dortmund Bus Explosion

The 49-year-old Liverpool manager from Germany, who was in charge of Dortmund from 2008 to 2015, led the club to its first two Bundesliga titles in his eight seasons at the helm.

Dortmund lost to Monaco 3-2 in the Champions League quarterfinal first-leg game at Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday evening, a match that was postponed from Tuesday following the explosion that left one player injured: Spanish defender Marc Bartra. 

Bartra suffered a broken wrist that required surgery. Several of his teammates were under Klopp’s charge.

Klopp said that upon learning of the explosion, he feared for the players and coaching staff he knows so well.

“I don’t think what I say is too important,” Klopp said. “Everybody can imagine it was a difficult moment for me because I don’t know how often I was in the team hotel with Dortmund.”

“I know exactly the road. A lot of my friends were in the bus. I was on the way home from Melwood and Matt called me and told me something happened.

“I was really concerned, scared for them. In the first moment it was a bit of relief, then you hear the more information you get the more serious it got.”

Klopp continued: “I had contact with people but I didn’t want to bother them with my silly questions. I was waiting with the rest of the world. The lats thing I thought about was the game.”

Many Dortmund players expressed discontent that the postponed game was held less than 24 hours after the blast, and Klopp said he understood their frustration but also understands the other side of the issue.

“I can 100 per cent understand both sides,” Klopp said. “It was difficult to find another date. I think everybody could understand if you couldn’t play it.

“I was really proud of Borussia Dortmund. When they played the game they tried to give the best. I saw the faces of my former players and I saw the shock in their eyes and that was really, really hard.

Klopp finally added that it will take time to deal with the repercussions of this tragedy, but that Dortmund will manage to get through it.

“It will take time to deal with it. I’m pretty sure the people who make the decision afterwards, if they had been in the bus they would not have played the game,” the German said.

“If you are not in the bus you cannot imagine how it is exactly. I am like all the other football fans in the world, the only difference is I know all of them. I see it like all in the world see it. We have to carry on. We will and we can. We can concentrate on football and training.”

Dortmund will visit Monaco for the second-leg Champions League quarterfinal on April 19.

Caption:LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – MARCH 10: Jurgen Klopp, manager of Liverpool celebrates victory with Divock Origi of Liverpool after the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 first leg match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield on March 10, 2016 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)