“You’re overthinking it.”
League of Ireland star Connor Parsons couldn’t convince Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp that he was a professional footballer on Sky Sports show.
Alongside Liverpool defender Joel Matip, the Reds’ boss was tasked with the challenge of identifying which player was the professional among a group of pretenders.
The segment is called ‘Pick the Pro’ and five people claiming to be pro footballers perform tasks in front of the German manager, and he then has to eliminate one player after each challenge.
Waterford’s Parsons stood out straight from the off, pinging the woodwork successfully during the crossbar challenge and doing it with the sort of ooze and class that a pro footballer would have.
The first touch challenge was equally as impressive as he buried his shot, and along with the slicked back hair and cool demeanour, Klopp compared him to Man City’s Jack Grealish.
However, there were other contenders who also performed well, and it was the Irish calendar in the end that tricked the Anfield heroes into selecting the wrong the contender.
Parsons explained that his last match was in the Play-Offs last month, Klopp was thrown by this, and wondered why such a tournament would be played in November.
Although the Waterford star explained that in Ireland they play their football right through the summer and take a break during winter, the European Cup winning manager thought it was perhaps a clever rouse to throw him off the scent.
In the end, Matip and Klopp both went with the left back who, in fairness, did play at a decent standard at academy level, but they were annoyed with themselves when Parsons was revealed to be the only paid footballer.
The classy midfielder said that the legendary manager was “overthinking it”, which Klopp wholeheartedly agreed with, but he could not believe his astonishment at the League of Ireland calendar was apparent.
Related links:
- Man United’s insane injury list grows even further ahead of Liverpool game
- Jurgen Klopp aims brutal dig at Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lava
- Jurgen Klopp gets Sky Sports reporter in a headlock
