By AFPMore by this AuthorLIVERPOOLJurgen Klopp has suffered a blow ahead of Liverpool's Champions League semi-final second leg against Roma after his key assistant Zeljko Buvac stepped aside for personal reasons. Klopp has described Buvas as "the brain" behind his coaching set-up in the past and his absence is an unwanted distract as Liverpool look to hold onto their 5-2 first leg lead against Roma. Speculation began circulating on Sunday that the Bosnian had quit, but Liverpool dismissed that claim by stressing Buvac remains a Reds employee whose position is not affected by his sudden absence. The pair played together at Mainz in the early 1990s and were reunited when Klopp made him his assistant having become manager in 2001. Having won promotion together the pair moved to Borussia Dortmund in 2008 where they won back-to-back Bundesliga titles and reached a Champions League final before moving to Liverpool.

Source: Daily Nation April 30, 2018 14:03 UTC