With just one day left of Jurgen Klopp’s reign at Liverpool, the tributes are starting to pour in.
Liverpool will wave goodbye to Klopp after the final Premier League game of the season against Wolves on Sunday.
It will be a hugely emotional occasion at Anfield as the Reds send off one of the best Liverpool manager’s in history. There’s unlikely to be a dry eye in the house. Even pundit Chris Sutton has claimed that he may shed a tear.
Before then though, we’ve been treated to plenty of people saying plenty of wonderful things about Klopp.
The latest of those has been Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard. As quite possibly the Reds’ finest ever player, Gerrard’s opinion is always welcome. And having come across Klopp many times, the Scouser has given his own take on what makes him special.
Steven Gerrard recalls Jurgen Klopp team talk
One of the greatest regrets of the Klopp era is that it did not overlap with Gerrard’s final years with Liverpool. After the former captain left in the summer of 2015, it was just a matter of months before Jurgen replaced Brendan Rodgers.
But even though Stevie never had the pleasure of calling Klopp his manager, he did manage to experience being in a team led by the German.
Speaking to Sky Sports in a brilliant 20-minute video which Jurgen sat to watch, Gerrard spoke about the time he was invited to play under the 56-year-old in a friendly game in Australia.
“We were invited to represent the first-team, myself and Jamie [Carragher] in Australia for an exhibition match and Jurgen took the team,” says the academy graduate.
“So, we got a small segment of what it’d be like when he’s stood in front of you giving you the tactics and the plan. I remember siting there thinking to myself ‘I would pay any amount of money and I would do anything for anyone if I could represent this guy for a year’. That’s what I was thinking when I was sitting in the room.
“This was a friendly match, this was an exhibition. But I flew into that game like it was a cup final.”
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In a parallel universe, Gerrard is preparing to take over the reigns from Klopp as he departs Anfield.
For many years it was felt that Stevie was the heir to Jurgen’s throne. Alas, the former captain’s management career has not gone to plan.
Nevertheless, he does still find himself in a job over in Saudi Arabia. And with his Al Ettifaq side sitting 6th in the Saudi Pro League, Gerrard is set to raid Liverpool’s coaching team for a new addition.
As Klopp said in his pre-Wolves press conference yesterday, long-serving goalkeeper coach John Achterberg will join Gerrard in Saudi Arabia next season.
“John Achterberg joins Stevie, good luck with that! A fantastic coach,” said the manager.