Jurgen Klopp is a man it seems who could raise a racket in a graveyard.
The German is one of those coaches who it appears players will do almost anything for victory on the pitch.
His charisma and histrionics on the sidelines have won him many fans in his short spell at Liverpool already this season, and now Adam Lallana has revealed that in his very first team-talk he almost had players wound up into a near fanatical frenzy.
Klopp’s first game in charge of the Reds was away to Tottenham and the ex-Southhampton man explains in an interview in The Telegraph that the German’s way of communicating even had injured club captain Jordan Henderson hoping he could play in the game,
“I remember the team meeting before we set off for the ground on that day. We listened to the manager and I was so pumped by what he’d said – the vibe, the emotion and the feeling – I walked out wanting the game to start there and then, in that second. Jordan Henderson was injured but he travelled with us and said he would have loved to be playing in that game as much as any other.
“It was just the passion of his words that got to us, and the comparison he made of football to normal life, the idea of getting the win and feeling good about what you’ve achieved. He told us he wants us to have that feeling of going home after a game, sitting there and knowing you have done your job. To always feel you can be satisfied with your performance. It’s a good feeling to know you’ve had a good day at work.
Liverpool’s recent run of good form has seen them move to within six points of the top of the Premier League while they face Lallana’s former club Southampton on Wednesday night for a spot in the last four of the Capital One cup.
The England midfielder feels Klopp’s unusual style suits Liverpool perfectly,
“He really is brilliant to listen to. He seems to have an off-the-cuff way about him. You can’t imagine him sitting in his office preparing a team talk. He just goes with the flow and it’s all genuine. One hundred per cent. The way he describes himself as ‘normal’ is true. There is no ego but an abundance of charisma and an aura. He means what he says. He’ll be your mate but not your best mate. He’s not going to go for a pint with us after a match, but he’ll call you into the office and have a chat if it’s needed.”
The description tallies with what several former players who worked under the German have said about him over the last number of months.
Even reading something like that has us psyched.
