Klopp vows to ignore nostalgia at final home game

Jurgen Klopp insists he will not be distracted by nostalgia ahead of his final home game as Borussia Dortmund coach on Saturday.

Klopp, whose exit from Dortmund was confirmed last month, will lead the club at Signal Iduna Park for the final time against Werder Bremen.

A tenure that has seen Klopp win two Bundesliga titles, a DFB-Pokal and reach the UEFA Champions League final will then come to an end when Dortmund face Wolfsburg in the Pokal final next week.

Speaking in his pre-match press-conference, Klopp said: “I don’t want to go into the game feeling nostalgic. My concentration is on the match.

“I don’t want to imagine, what is going on inside of me when the ref blows the [final] whistle.”

Victory for Dortmund will see them secure a place in the UEFA Europa League should Augsburg lose to Borussia Monchengladbach.

The game will also mark a farewell for veteran Sebastian Kehl, who is poised to end his professional career at the end of the season.

Klopp added: “I want one last full-throttle-event at the Westfalenstadion. Getting into the Europa League means everything to me.”

Dortmund began the new year in the relegation zone but have since taken 28 points from 16 games to surge up the table.

And Klopp said: “You can’t imagine, how thankful I am, not having to witness the wild relegation fight in the Bundesliga from the first hand.”