On the night Liverpool were finally crowned Premier League champions, Jürgen Klopp was, as ever, keen to highlight the effort made by everyone at the club in putting The Reds right back up on their perch.
Klopp and co had gathered the team together in a hotel for last night’s Chelsea vs Manchester City encounter. It was an inspired decision in the end as it was the night Liverpool’s title changed from champions-elect to simply ‘champions’.
Speaking to Liverpoolfc.com from the celebrations, Klopp admitted that he couldn’t put his feelings into words on such an emotional occasion.
“… if I tried to start talking about it [how I feel] again I will start crying again and that doesn’t work really well! I am completely overwhelmed; I don’t know, it’s a mix of everything – I am relieved, I am happy, I am proud. I couldn’t be more proud of the boys. How we watched the game tonight together, we knew it could happen, it couldn’t not happen, we didn’t know. We want to play football and we are really happy that we are allowed to play again – then when it happened in that moment, it was a pure explosion. When we counted down the last five seconds of the game, the ref counted down a little bit longer than us so we had to look at two or three more passes! Then it was pure… I cannot describe it. It was a really, really nice moment. Directly after it, I felt so empty inside – I cannot believe it, I am really not happy with myself in the moment that I feel like I feel, but it’s just a little bit too much in the moment. I will be fine, nobody has to worry. I actually couldn’t be happier; I couldn’t have dreamed of something like that and I never did before last year, honestly. We were not close enough three years ago, a year ago we were really close… what the boys have done in the last two-and-a-half years, the consistency they show is absolutely incredible and second to none.”
On the idea of getting the team together at the hotel last night, Klopp said:
“There was no alternative. This morning we thought about it, shall we do something and then we thought maybe not compulsory, the boys have to drive a little bit… and then I said, ‘No, we have to make it compulsory, everybody has to be there’ because I am more experienced and I know who will stay at home and watch it alone will regret it for the rest of his life. So, we came here together, it is our bubble, it is the people who are with us every day, we are all twice-a-week tested so we are fine since we can train again and it’s a nice moment. It is wonderful to share it, but we share it with everybody out there as well because we are here, they are there, but we are all together. My message is: it is for you out there. It is really for you. I hope you feel it.”
Finally, Klopp spoke about all the effort put in from behind-the-scenes by coaches, administration staff, PAs and more.
“Tonight, you see them all together. What Ray [Haughan] did organisational wise, what Mona [Nemmer] did food-wise and with nutrition is amazing. What Korny [Andreas Kornmayer] did on a fitness level, what Pep Lijnders did and put into this game, there is so much of his soul in our game now in this short period. It is unbelievable. Pete [Krawietz]… wow… what a… I couldn’t thank them all more. Vitor [Matos] came in and he has lost one game since he is in. Unbelievable. The youth, the players, Neco Williams would not be in this moment or the position he is, or Curtis, or Harvey or now Leighton coming up and Jake Cain coming up, they would not be in this position if Vitor is not here. John [Achterberg] and Jack [Robinson], it is a joy to work with them together every day. It is for Danielle, my PA who I didn’t see for three-and-a-half or four months but she is working her socks off and suffers so much. It is for everybody. It is for Mike [Gordon], Tom [Werner] and John [Henry], our owners in America. We couldn’t reach other, I have 20 calls and them probably as well because I couldn’t catch him so far. It is for everybody; they all put so much effort into it and I am the lucky guy who sits in the seat in this moment and… can be part of this story, it’s so great it is unbelievable.”
That’s it, folks. Liverpool are Premier League champions. 18 changes to 19 after 30 long, long years.
I have no doubt that, after Bill Shankly, Jürgen Klopp is the best thing to ever happen to Liverpool Football Club. Enjoy your day.
For the most in-depth tactical and statistical analysis regarding Liverpool FC, sign up now! The original home of Pressing Stats, Anfield Index also brings you the latest views from club legends such as Jan Molby.
Hear from the UK’s top journalists, managers, professionals, sports scientists, physios and sports psychologists as we bring you the ultimate LFC fan experience provided on approximately 30 podcasts every month for our AI:Pro listeners!!
Enjoy all this and more for just £4.99 per month at Anfield Index Pro!!
