Jürgen Klopp’s task running Red Bull's soccer operations got a whole lot tougher even before his first day at work.
The ex-Liverpool manager was announced in October as the drinks giant's new “head of global soccer” across its international soccer empire, but isn't due to start until Jan. 1.
In the meantime, that empire is crumbling.
Red Bull's showpiece club Leipzig has lost every one of its games in the new-look Champions League and hasn't won a match in the German Bundesliga since October. Losing 5-1 to Wolfsburg last week was especially bruising.
A cup win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday eased some of the pressure on coach Marco Rose, but his young squad's confidence still appears fragile.
Salzburg, the original Red Bull club, is a distant fifth in the Austrian league and has lost four of its five Champions League games. In the Brazilian league, Bragantino is 18th of 20 teams.
The sole bright spot is in the United States, where the New York Red Bulls play the Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS Cup final on Saturday.
Klopp said in October he saw his new role as being more of an “adviser” to coaches — “often the loneliest person at the club” — than a hire-and-fire executive.
That might be put to the test if Leipzig and Salzburg don't show some sustained improvement this month.
Leipzig has a chance to record a much-needed Bundesliga win Saturday against struggling Holstein Kiel, but getting a Champions League point against high-flying Aston Villa next week will be tougher.
Until recently, Rose seemed a good fit as Leipzig coach. He was born in Leipzig and won titles at Salzburg, and combined well with up-and-coming players like forwards Lois Openda and Benjamin Sesko and on-loan midfielder Xavi Simons. With the team's recent form, there's been plenty of speculation in Germany about who might replace him.
The coaching situation at Salzburg is more personal for Klopp. Pep Lijnders spent six years as Klopp's assistant at Liverpool before moving to the Austrian team in May. Perhaps surprisingly, Salzburg also has a spot at the Club World Cup in the United States next year, and it will be the only club from the Red Bull group there.
There's been one change even before Klopp takes charge. Rouven Schröder left his role as Leipzig sporting director last week for a newly created position as “managing director for sport” at Salzburg. Officially, it's a promotion and brings more decision-making authority, though it also amounts to making Schröder a bigger fish in a smaller pond.
Klopp's given no sign he's keen to coach again soon — and his move has faced protests from fans of his earlier German clubs — but the Red Bull soccer empire has a history of backroom leadership stepping in when needed.
Ralf Rangnick coached Leipzig in two stints while also in a sporting director role and then moved to a role similar to Klopp's as “head of sports and development soccer” for the group.
Klopp on the sidelines again? It might not be impossible.
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Leipzig players celebrate with coach Marco Rose after scoring their side's third goal of the game during a German Cup match between RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt at the Red Bull Arena, in Leipzig, Germany, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)
Leipzig's Benjamin Henrichs, right, and Frankfurt's Niels Nkounkou battle for the ball during a German Cup match between RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt at the Red Bull Arena, in Leipzig, Germany, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)
An Azerbaijani airliner has crashed in Kazakhstan after being diverted, killing 38 of 67 people on board.
Some things to know about the crash and the speculation about a possible cause:
Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 was en route from Azerbaijani capital Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus on Wednesday when it was diverted for reasons that aren't fully clear yet. It crashed while making an attempt to land in Aktau, Kazakhstan, after flying east across the Caspian Sea.
The plane went down near the coast about 3 kilometers (around 2 miles) from Aktau. Cellphone footage circulating online appeared to show the aircraft making a steep descent before hitting the ground and exploding in a fireball.
Rescuers have rushed 29 people who survived the crash to hospitals.
Azerbaijan observed a nationwide day of mourning on Thursday. National flags were lowered across the country, traffic across the country stopped at noon, and signals were sounded from ships and trains.
Speaking at a news conference Wednesday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that the weather had forced the plane to change from its planned course.
Kazakhstani, Azerbaijani and Russian authorities say they are investigating the crash. Embraer told The Associated Press in a statement that the company is “ready to assist all relevant authorities.”
Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, said that preliminary information indicated that the pilots diverted to Aktau after a bird strike led to an emergency on board.
Some commentators alleged that the holes seen in the plane’s tail section pictured after the crash possibly indicate that it could have come under fire from Russian air defense systems fending off a Ukrainian drone attack.
Osprey Flight Solutions, an aviation security firm based in the United Kingdom, warned its clients that the “Azerbaijan Airlines flight was likely shot down by a Russian military air-defense system.”
Osprey CEO Andrew Nicholson said that the company had issued more than 200 alerts regarding drone attacks and air defense systems in Russia during the war.
Asked Thursday about the claims that the plane had been fired upon by air defense assets, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “it would be wrong to make hypotheses before investigators make their verdict.”
Officials in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have similarly avoided comment on a possible cause of the crash, saying it will be up to investigators to determine it.
Flowers and portraits are placed at the Consulate of Azerbaijan in the memory of victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 that crashed near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
In this image taken from video released by the Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service, rescuers transport wounded passengers from a medical plane after the Azerbaijani Airline crashed, near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau, upon their arrival at the Zhukovsky airport outside Moscow, Russia, on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP)
St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov lays a bunch of flowers at the Consulate of Azerbaijan in the memory of victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 that crashed near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Azerbaijan's national flag at half-mast in the memory of victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 that crashed near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau, is seen in front of a Government's building in the center of Baku, Azerbaijan, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Aziz Karimov)
The wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 lays on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Azamat Sarsenbayev)
Azerbaijan's national flag at half-mast in the memory of victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 that crashed near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau, is seen in the center of Baku, Azerbaijan, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Aziz Karimov)
In this photo released by Kazakhstan's Emergency Ministry Press Service, rescuers work at the wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 lies on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (Kazakhstan's Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP)
In this photo taken from a video released by the administration of Mangystau region, Members of an investigation committee and local officials walk past the wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 lying on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (The Administration of Mangystau Region via AP)
In this photo taken from a video released by the administration of Mangystau region, a part of Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 lies on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (The Administration of Mangystau Region via AP)
