Instead, the Liverpoolmanager will aim to continue his efforts to return the Premier League club to the pinnacle of the game, at home and abroad.

It was 2008, following thedeparture of Ottmar Hitzfeld from the post of Bayern manager that Klopp, then in charge of German seconddivision side Mainz 05, was interviewed for the job.

It was a major shock at the time, and an indication of the great reputation Klopp was building in the German game, that he should even have been considered for the biggest job in his country but even when Bayern eventually opted for Jurgen Klinsmann, stories emerged that suggested the current Liverpool manager was not pleased with his treatment.

Now, as Klopp prepares to face his old rivals in the Champions League last 16 first leg tie at Anfield, heinsists there were no hard feelings more than a decade on, even if the obvioushistory and tension between him and Bayern is undeniable.

“The 2008 story was made public years ago,” said Klopp yesterday.

“It is pretty much all true apart from the claim that I was angry in the session afterwards when they called me to say they had decided on the other Jurgen.

“I was not angry. I never expected that they would go for me. I was a second division manager in Germany, a Championship manager if you want, and who would expect that Bayern calls you?

“It was more of a shock in the first moment. Then a couple of days later they called to say they’d go with the other Jurgen. All the rest is true. It was Uli Hoeness on the phone. I would never have told the story. It is not a story where you go around telling people: ‘They asked me if I would go there!’

“But Uli Hoeness spoke about and I can confirm that’s how it was.”

Hoeness, Bayern’s president, watched in 2008 as Klopp moved to Borussia Dortmund, turning the Bundesliga side into Munich’s major rivals and, eventually, into German champions in their stead.

Klopp was attempting his utmost to play down talk of his personal connections with Bayern, and German football in general yesterday, but given the already intense nature of this stage of European competition, his own history with tonight’s opponents only serves to ratchet up the drama and spotlight even higher.

“I don’t feel like this,” he said. “Obviously a couple of people called me in the last few days to tell me Germany, or football Germany, is going mad over this game and that’s how it is.

“But making these kind of personal battles out of it, I don’t understand. Yes, I was manager of Dortmund and had a bit of success there and it was always difficult to play against Bayern. To beat them was the biggest challenge you could face in German football, always.

“Sometimes we did it and sometimes we didn’t. I don’t see it as a personal thing for me. It is two big clubs facing each other and I am really happy to be part of this game. It’s a big one. It is a game you want to see and maybe that is the biggest achievement for my team so far — we are back not only in the competition but people think we could win it. That’s good but still a lot of work to do.

“There is no extra dimension, only more stress because I could have done 600 interviews with German newspapers and stuff like that, but all the interest is there because I am a part of the game.”

Still, however much he might protest otherwise, any meeting between English and German opposition will always carry with it an extra dimension of drama and rivalry. Factor in Klopp’s first-hand knowledge of, and history with, Bayern superstars such as Robert Lewandowski and Mats Hummels and tonight’s game could be one of the most intriguing of the entire season, domestically or in Europe.

“I worked together with these two boys and I loved it, two fantastic players,” said Klopp.

“I have to be really thankful because without them, probably my career would not be the same. We all benefited from each other.

“I remember my first phone call with Mats Hummels and the first time I saw Robert Lewandowski. That is part of my life, part of my history.

“I know a lot, I would not say I know everything about them, but I followed their path and their way and I really like them. But tomorrow night we will try everything to make sure they don’t shine.

“Difficult, but we will still try!