Liverpool legend Roberto Firmino has spoken of Željko Buvac’s ‘strange’ departure from Liverpool.The 62-year-old Bosnian coach is Jurgen Klopp’s long-time assistant and first met the United manager in Germany, where they spent three years together at Mainz.
After retiring from football, Buvac managed Neukirchen for three years before returning to Mainz as Klopp’s assistant in 2001 and spending seven years with the German side. Buvac was praised by Klopp, who described the Bosnian as the team’s “brains”, Kravitz as its “eyes” and himself as its “heart”. However, their partnership came to an abrupt end in 2018 when Buvac left Liverpool ahead of their Champions League tie with Roma.
The club put his departure down to “personal reasons” but the lack of explanation, especially ahead of the European semi-finals, surprised fans and even the players, Firmino said. It appears in his new book Si Senor: My Liverpool Years. “Zeljko, Klopp’s right-hand man, was actively involved in training, organizing everything and leading the sessions,” the Brazilian wrote. “His departure in 2018 was strange for all of us, nobody understood what was happening.
