TRONDHEIM (Dagbladet): Jürgen Klopp is once again hailed as a genius after he led Liverpool to a new Champions League final on Tuesday night following victory over Spain’s Villarreal.

Klopp is one year older than current Rosenborg coach Kjetil Rekdal, who met several times with Liverpool’s successful manager in 2007/08.

Rekdal was then manager of Kaiserslautern, while Klopp led Mainz in the 2nd Bundesliga – and on 26 November 2007, the score was 0-0 between Rekdal and Klopp’s crew.

Fellow coaches also met several times before they were both broadcast on German TV.

– When I coached Kaiserslautern, Jürgen Klopp coached Mainz. I often met him back then, before we went on missions, among other things. Klopp was a pleasure to talk to. He is open and kind, Kjetil Rekdal told Dagbladet.

– He is the first to play 4-4-2 with a defensive zone in Germany. Joachim Löw tried the same thing in Stuttgart, but was fired. It was very marked at that time in Germany, he recalls.

– Think what

Rekdal has been blown away by Klopp’s incredible coaching success since they each took charge of their 2nd Bundesliga club back in 2007, though it hurts Rekdal that it was Liverpool who had such great success with the German.

– Check out Klopp’s journey since me at Kaiserslautern and him at Mainz. I’m very content to be at Rosenborg now, but imagine if I had taken over Hertha Berlin a few years earlier and been successful there. Think what could happen, said Rekdal and let it hang in the air:

– What will happen if I agree with Hertha Berlin? he asked.

Rekdal was eyed when he got a permanent offer to become manager of Hertha Berlin in 2003. He was then a new coach in the game, but with a background of new players from the capital club in Germany.

Therefore, he said no

But then Rekdal refused. This was before he had a chance at Kaiserslautern at a level below him – and when he had his first coaching job at Vlerenga, where the former national team captain even played as a coach.

– Why did you say no to Hertha Berlin?

– We were in 2003 and digging down, and it all ended in qualifying. Bundesliga clubs don’t sit and wait for weeks. I’ve also been a play coach. It would be too brutal for Vålerenga to lose someone to coach and player as they struggle to survive in the Elite Series. Very bad timing. That’s why I chose to stay. I don’t regret it, said Rekdal.

– What if there is an offer from there at a later date?

– I’m not thinking about Hertha Berlin today. For me, tomorrow is the day. I can’t take more than one day at a time for my own part, but for Rosenborg I have to think further ahead.

Rosenborg shipwreck

Saying no to Hertha Berlin in 2003 wasn’t the only option that Rekdal thought about a lot during his life. Saying no to Rosenborg as a young player also laid the groundwork for his career, although he is now Rosenborg’s coach 35 years later.

– Why did you reject RBK as a player?

– Nils Arne called me. I was at home with my parents. I think it was Christmas 1987. Nils Arne wanted me to go to Trondheim. He wanted me to take over from Sverre Brandhaug in the end, but I have to sit on the bench and learn a bit from him in the meantime. But then I was already playing at Molde and liked it more, Rekdal explained to Dagbladet and added:

– But what will happen if I go there when I am 18 years old? I’ve been asking myself that.

The family is very restless

Now he remains – after 35 years – a part of Rosenborg. The history of this club is unique, not least from the golden age of Nils Arne Eggen.

– I’ve always liked Nils Arne. It was always interesting and educational to talk to him. “I don’t agree with everything he said and did, but it was really interesting to talk about the topic with him,” Rekdal said of his predecessor and icon Rosenborg who died earlier this year.