Jürgen Klopp had a lengthy press conference ahead of the Reds' match with Aston Villa. He discussed the 4 players who are leaving the club after the season, his suspension and the fun of the Champions League chase.
Roberto Firmino, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, James Milner, and Naby Keïta will all be playing their final match at Anfield vs. the Lions. Klopp shared touching words about each player and admits it will be an emotional match.
“We spoke already with the boys earlier this week about it: it's super-important for us and it's kind of super-emotional as well for different reasons because we really say goodbye to, from my point of view, four Liverpool legends,” Klopp said. “Because two of them were here when I arrived, Millie and Bobby obviously, and nothing would have happened, all the good things in the last few years, without them – that is clear. Ox came in pretty early then Naby came in. all four won pretty much each available trophy and we love them. That's true as well but it's professional football and nothing is forever, nothing is for eternity, that's how it is.”
Klopp will not be on the touchline due to a two-match suspension received, but he does not see it as having a big impact on the game.
“Nobody probably will shout like me at them if they don't track back,” Klopp said. “But I will tell the boys if they don't want me to do that in the future, they just have to do it now without me shouting. Pep [Lijnders] is an incredible coach and he will be out there. I'm not sure how many percent of the things I shout on the pitch are because the boys saw it before on the screen. Yeah, now I can do that (coach) in the stands.”
When asked about the best part of Liverpool's current 7-match winning streak, Klopp's answer was simple: He is having fun again.
“So much more fun again, it's so much more easy to enjoy, that's the truth. I know I'm a professional football manager, whatever, I should enjoy it all the time – but there are moments when it's just not that easy,” he said. “Now, everything is back to its best.”
It is clear to see that Jürgen Klopp is a players' manager as he tried to hold back his emotions when speaking about the 4 players who are leaving He went into much greater depth on each one, which you can see here. I also appreciate Klopp's honesty when he said even the best jobs are not fun at times. I think we can all relate to that. I'm glad that he is having fun now.
