Schwarz played alongside and then under Klopp at Mainz in the early noughties and was then reunited with him in the MLS
17:49, 03 Mar 2026Updated 17:50, 03 Mar 2026
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Sandro Schwarz (left) and Jurgen Klopp (right)(Image: New York Red Bulls FC)
Aberdeen manager candidate Sandro Schwarz once came to blows with Jurgen Klopp during their time together at Mainz.
But the Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund icon later revealed how he then heavily relied on the German to help get the 05ers back into the Bundesliga.
With their approach for ex St Etienne head coach Eirik Horneland stalling to 'unforeseen circumstances', the Dons have turned their attentions to Schwarz, who has been out of work since leaving New York Red Bulls back in October. The 47-year-old is in the Granite City for talks with Pittodrie sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel, who knows him well from his own time working in the States with St Louis City.
And it was during that two year spell in charge of the MLS side that Schwarz was reunited with managerial powerhouse Klopp, who oversees the Red Bull franchise's football operations in his role as Head of Global Soccer.
Prior to that, Schwarz played alongside the Premier League and Champions League winner for three years at Mainz and then another three under the illustrious German when he took up the reins at the Mewa Arena
In an interview with German outlet Kicker, Klopp revealed how he left Schwarz blooded when tensions boiled over during a training session just before he became the player's manager. In 2018, he recalled: "The message of the training match was to take care not to hurt yourself.
"And Sandro Schwarz knocked me over three times from behind - on a hard-frozen artificial turf field. The third time I got up, then we stood nose to nose. 'Are you stupid or what?' I said to him. He said: 'What do you want?'
"Then I moved my head forward so slightly. This is generally considered a headbutt, but it wasn’t a blow, more like a push away. Two c****, fools! And then he started bleeding. That was crazy! That must have had to do with the cold!
"I wanted to apologize right away. He just sent me away. I wanted to call at lunchtime and then Rosi - his mother - told me on the phone: 'He doesn't want to talk to you'. And I cooked nicely in my own juice. Two months later I was his coach!"
Speaking to Kicker, Klopp later revealed how integral Schwarz was in his Mainz's team that secured promotion to the Bundesliga in 2004. "Sandro was my teammate for years.
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Sandro Schwarz and Jurgen Klopp at Mainz back in 2004(Image: Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images)
"Then after I took charge of the club until we got promoted back to the Bundesliga, he was a really important player in my team. Sandro was always a fighter, a leader, someone who really lived for Mainz 05.
"He was always someone who took the initiative, who was a real leader. They're not the worst characteristics for someone who's going to be a coach!"
During his tenure in New York, Schwarz gave details about reuniting with his old coach. In 2024, he said: "We are in touch. We played together when I was a youth player in my first season in the second league in Germany.
"First of all, he's a great person and we are in touch. And sometimes it's funny, sometimes we have serious talks. But it's great that we had this experience, especially in Mainz.
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“He played an important role for all of us because it was a very formative time in Mainz. I played with him myself as a young player. At the time he was the experienced deputy captain of our team."