tag

Despite leaving Liverpool as one of the most highly regarded coaches in world football in 2024, Jurgen Klopp said he never thought of himself as among the game’s best. “I never considered myself a world-class coach,” Klopp told AFP and other media in an interview in Leipzig, “because I still had so many questions when I finished. I was like ‘how can I be world class with these questions still?” After starting out at Mainz, where he took the club to the top flight for the first time, Klopp moved to Dortmund, where he won two Bundesliga titles and reached the 2013 Champions League final. After signing with Liverpool in 2015, Klopp’s Reds won every trophy on offer, including Champions League and Premier League. In his new role as Red Bull’s global head of football, where he oversees a multi-club structure with teams including RB Leipzig, New York Red Bulls and Paris FC, Klopp said that he wants to help coaches answer those questions. “My role with the coaches is to be the guy I never had. I sat in my office very, very, very often, very, very, very alone. A lot of people gave me advice and have great ideas... It’s great to have ideas, but it’s really not that easy to make the final decision. I want to be in moments when I know they are alone, or feel alone. I want to be there.” Klopp oversaw the firing of then-Leipzig coach Marco Rose, a long-time friend, in 2025 and said that being on the other side felt odd. “Grave-digger of the coaches – that’s a title I never wanted to win!” From taking Mainz to the Bundesliga to breaking Liverpool’s Premier League drought, Klopp improved clubs and players wherever he went. Often taking over with teams at a low ebb, the coach would try and put things in perspective. “How did I start a game? I would say ‘the worst news is you can lose it’ – so let’s try and win it... Do not try to avoid defeat – try to win.” The coach said he told his players: “Giving your all doesn’t mean you will get anything, but it’s your only chance to get something. That’s pretty much how you do it. We gave everything – and sometimes we got something.” Klopp said media and fans were too focused on results. “I never watch the goals back, because I want to understand the game to the left and the right of the result. I want to understand why it happened... Results are the result of the performance. So we worked on the performance and the results came later.” He said he “didn’t take any pride” out of trophy ceremonies and parades. “I love being a part of it, not in the middle of it. You might see pictures where someone gave me a trophy and I’d take it, but I didn’t need to touch it. For me, it was the journey that I loved. That gave me much more than the moment.” Klopp retains cult-like status at his former clubs, with fans remembering the German for his sideline antics and everyman appeal as much as his successes. RB Leipzig sporting director Marcel Schaefer told AFP that Klopp has brought the same presence into his new role, even if he is no longer on the sideline. “He has something that is unique. He has a god-given talent which everyone knows from his coaching jobs. He can catch people in five to 10 minutes.” Schaefer said Klopp plays an important role in player recruitment by “talking to families, talking to players about our vision, about our project. “You know if Jurgen Klopp is in the room.”Since stepping down at Anfield, Klopp has been linked to an array of high-profile coaching jobs, but he said that a return to the dugout is unlikely. “I don’t expect to change my mind, but I don’t know. “We’re building a house right now and my missus wanted to have a really big trophy room. There was another small room and I said ‘this is enough, because we know how many trophies we have, we will not add any.’ “It might sound arrogant, but I know I can coach a football team. But I don’t need to do it until my last day.” 

The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index rose 10.81 points, or 0.10%, at the beginning of trading on Tuesday, reaching 10,846 points, compared to last closing. QSE was supported by a rise in five sectors: Consumer Goods and Services (+0.50%); Industrials (+0.23%); Banks and Financial Services (+0.08%); Transportation (+0.02%); and Insurance (+0.01%). In contrast, Real Estate slipped (-0.06%), as did Telecoms (-0.27%). By 10:00 am, 25.764 million shares had been traded in 3,191 transactions valued at QR 60.558 million.

The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index rose to 10,903 points at the beginning of Tuesday's trading, up 0.14%, or 15.06 points, compared to the previous session's close, supported by gains in four sectors. According to figures released by the QSE, the Telecoms sector led the gains, up by 0.32%, followed by Industrials (+0.17%), Banks and Financial Services (+0.09%), and Transportation (+0.03%). In contrast, Consumer Goods and Services slipped 0.03%, Real Estate declined 0.10%, and Insurance fell 0.71%. As of 10:00 am, trading volume totaled 13.668 million shares, with a turnover of QR 28.294 million across 1,838 transactions.

The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index rose at the beginning of Sunday's trading by 0.38%, gaining 41.56 points to reach 10,904 points, compared to the previous session's close, supported by four sectors. Market data showed gains in Banks and Financial Services (+0.53%), Consumer Goods and Services (+0.51%), Industrials (+0.44%), and Real Estate (+0.20%). Meanwhile, the performance was negative for Telecoms (-0.05%), Transportation (-0.07%), and Insurance (-0.08%). By 10:00 am, QSE reported a turnover of QR 52.797 million from 26.503 million shares traded across 2,352 transactions.

The dollar sank to a one-week low versus major peers on Wednesday as the US government entered a shutdown that is likely to delay the release of crucial jobs data. The dollar index, which gauges the currency against six counterparts including the euro and yen, declined 0.2% to 97.635, and earlier dipped to 97.584 for the first time since last Wednesday. The euro rose as much as 0.3% to $1.1767, the highest since September 24. The dollar slipped 0.3% to touch 147.46 for the first time since September 19, adding to a three-day, 1.2% slide.

South Korea's exports rose 12.7% from a year earlier in September on the back of strong demand for semiconductors, logging the largest outbound shipments in three years and six months, government data showed Wednesday. Outbound shipments came to $65.95 billion last month, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Trade and Industry. This marks the largest monthly export volume since March 2022, and the fourth straight month of on-year growth. For the third quarter, exports increased 6.6% on-year to $185.03 billion, surpassing the $180 billion-mark and setting a new quarterly record, the data showed. Imports decreased 8.2% on-year to $56.4 billion in September, resulting in a trade surplus of $5.64 billion. By item, semiconductor exports soared 22% on-year to $16.6 billion to mark an all-time monthly high for the second consecutive month following August. Auto exports increased 16.8% to $6.4 billion, marking the highest figure for any September. Ship exports surged 21.9% on-year to $2.89 billion, marking the seventh consecutive month of increase. Outbound shipments of machinery also expanded 10.3% on-year to $4.2 billion, marking the first on-year increase this year on the back of strong demand from emerging markets such as the Middle East.

Gold prices rose on Monday to hover near an all-time high, supported by a weaker dollar and growing expectations that the Federal Reserve is likely to continue with interest rate cuts later this year. Spot gold was up 0.5% at $3,776.72 per ounce. Bullion hit a record of $3,790.82 last week. US gold futures for December delivery were steady at $3,806.20. Elsewhere, spot silver rose 0.6% to $46.26 per ounce, platinum climbed 2.2% to $1,602.45 and palladium gained 0.8% at $1,279.68.