Having secured the transfer of Japanese playmaker Shinji Kagawa last summer, Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp is very happy. Klopp has forever been a huge admirer of Kagawa but was forced to let the now 25 year-old leave when Manchester United came calling three years ago.
The Japanese endured a tough spell in English football as he was played either out of position (by Sir Alex Ferguson) or not played at all (by Fergusona s successor David Moyes). When Louis Van Gaal took charge in the summer, Kagawa was deemed surplus and eventually sold to his former club.
Both Klopp and Kagawa seemed quite happy with the agreement, and the Dortmund manager continues to be a huge fan of the playmaker.
“Shinji is someone who moves so well in the most difficult areas of the pitch, between the two lines of four,” Klopp was quoted as saying by the official Uefa website.
“It’s like he is the sausage in a sandwich, because players are coming from all sides.”
The Dortmund coach then went on to praise Marco Reus and hailed the attacker’s decision to snub a move elsewhere in favour of a new deal with BVB.
The German, who is rated as one of the top managers in world football at the moment, then went on to laud Marco Reus and his decision to commit to BVB. Several top European clubs were lurking around the corner for Reusa signature, but unlike former players like Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski, Reus committed, gaining the approval of not just Klopp but also the Dortmund faithful.
“Just how important Marco is, you could see from the extension of his contract. With such a top player, and with our history [financially], you would think a player of his calibre would leave the club at some point. But even though the whole world wanted him, he said: ‘I’m staying here.'”
“I think that was an extraordinary act at such a young age and not normal, so that’s why I think he is a great player and a great lad.”
In what has been an injury plagued season for Reus, the German has found the back of the net seven times in 15 Bundesliga appearances so far.