Jurgen Klopp lands surprise new job at the Winter Olympics

Eagle-eyed viewers watching the men’s biathlon relay at the Winter Olympics will have noticed a familiar face.

That’s because former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was tapped on the shoulder to ring the bell for the final lap of the race on Tuesday.

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Klopp is a self-professed winter sports enthusiast, despite his vast background in football.

So it comes as no surprise the German eagerly anticipated the opportunity to give the competing biathlon stars a heads-up the finish line is in sight.

‘We will be there’

“I’m a fan of everything,’ Klopp said.

“I love all alpine skiing, I love all cross-country skiing disciplines, I love biathlon. It’s all just exciting. 

“I understand some things better from watching them for years or from doing them myself. Other things I don’t understand at all. I have no idea how someone can bend down so low in curling, stay stable, and still push a kettle.

“I was even asked if I would like to ring the bell before the last lap. My first question was: What is that? We will be there; it’s my first live race.”

Who won the men’s biathlon relay?

Klopp and thousands of fans braved snowy conditions to watch France win their first gold medal in the men’s biathlon relay at the Winter Olympics.

The French team, comprised of Fabien Claude, Emilien Jacquelin, Quentin Fillon Maillet and Eric Perrot, finished with a time of 1 hour, 19 minutes and 55 seconds.

Norway, who went into the event as the defending champions, emerged with a silver medal as they finished 9.8 seconds behind France.

Sweden rounded out the podium as they crossed the line 57-and-a-half seconds after the French.

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AFP

How does the biathlon relay work?

Nations that competed in the men’s biathlon relay had teams of four, with each athlete tackling a 7.5km section of the 30km course.

The event began with a mass start comprising of the first skiers from each nation, with 20 nations involved in the men’s biathlon relay.

Each team member had two visits to the shooting range, where they had to hit the five targets.

Intriguingly, competitors had three extra bullets to use, taking their total of bullets available to eight.

Those three extra bullets needed to be loaded individually.

What is Klopp up to now, and will he return to management?

Given the Winter Olympics comes around once every four years, Red Bull won’t need to stress over losing Klopp from his role as their Global Head of Soccer to any alpine sports.

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However, Red Bull might need to pay more attention to the German should the England or Germany national team roles open up.

That’s because talkSPORT Breakfast co-hosts Jeff Stelling and Ally McCoist tipped Klopp to make a return to the dugout with England or Germany.

Stelling and McCoist’s verdict came after Klopp’s agent revealed the ex-Liverpool boss had previously turned down the opportunities to take over at Chelsea and Manchester United.

Sterling said: “The only jobs I think would tempt him back into management would be the German national team or the English national team.

McCoist replied: “I don’t disagree.”

He then added: “I think he’d be probably, at this moment of time in his own career and his own life, he’d be most suited to a managerial or head coach’s job with a country.”

Stelling said: “Ultimately Germany would snap his hand off.

“And maybe, depending what happens in the Thomas Tuchel reign, maybe England will as well.”