Niko Kovac says his clash with Jurgen Klopp at the end of the goalless Champions League draw between Liverpool and Bayern Munich was all down to a cultural misunderstanding.
The two bosses were seen in a heated discussion shortly after the full-time whistle blew at Anfield, with Klopp pointing an accusatory finger at his Bayern Munich counterpart.
But the row stemmed from confusion between the bosses, with Kovac keen to get onto the pitch and congratulate his players for their performance before he shook Klopp’s hand.
“That was funny,” said Kovac after the game.
“We were on English soil. In Germany it is normal when games end, you shake hands with your players first.
“In England, first the coaches shake hands so I did what I did in Germany. I said sorry and made up for it. In Germany, we will do it as we do it in Germany.” Klopp also played down the incident at full-time.
Jurgen Klopp didn’t seem too happy with Niko Kovač at full-time.#LIVBAY #UCL pic.twitter.com/gQHE6o70EK— The Swype Sports ™ (@TheSwypeSports) February 19, 2019
“Full-time? No, it’s not a problem,” said the Liverpool boss.
“I wanted to shake Niko’s hand immediately and then he went into the crowd of players and then he came back and apologised, and I said it was no problem.”
Liverpool will head to Munich for the second leg in three weeks’ time.
Kovac has done Klopp tactically here. Munich a mile ahead of us. Anything like that on Sunday and that’ll be that for another season. #ChampionsLeague #lfcbayern— Dylan Williams (@willspower80) February 19, 2019
