Jürgen Klopp was a candidate to become manager of Bayern Munich in 2008 when they instead hired Jürgen Klopp.
Klopp was in the middle of a successful run at Mainz before eventually joining Borussia Dortmund.
"I was sitting right next to him when he got a call from Bayern director Uli Hoeness," Mainz director Christian Heidel told Bild.
"Bayern had two candidates and Klopp was one of them, the domestic option. Jürgen Klinsmann was the other candidate and he was the internationally renowned option.
"Of course, he started to get enthusiastic about it. When Bayern give you a call to express their interest, it always does something with you."
