‘I’m the boss. I say who plays, I say when we train, I say what we do’: Jurgen Klopp on taking charge at Liverpool, being an average player and how you should ‘stay cheeky’ and know there’s more to life than football
- Jurgen Klopp has opened up on a range of topics in a podcast interview with JD
- He spoke about being the boss at Liverpool and journey from an ‘average’ player
- Klopp gives spookily-timely line that there’s more important things than football
- He says that at Liverpool he is his players’ friend, but ‘not their best friend’
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
Jurgen Klopp has opened up on his relationship with his Liverpool players, his journey from average footballer to top football manager and offered some timely life advice in a wide-ranging podcast interview released this week.
Sitting in a box at Anfield, the German speaks frankly about many different subjects, including why there’s more to life than football – a message that resonates even more in the current coronavirus crisis.
Speaking to JD for their In The Duffle Bag podcast, Klopp was asked about putting trust into his players, before going on to a wider point about the importance of the game.
Jurgen Klopp has spoken about Liverpool and much more in a wide-ranging podcast interview
Klopp gave some timely advice about how there are more important things than football
‘I trust them,’ he said. ‘I have a lot of faith in them and all that stuff. And it’s easy because they are wonderful human beings, sensationally skilled boys. So now we have to make sure that we all do the same in the same moment, and are pulling in the right direction.
‘But it’s football. It’s a game. So it’s not that serious actually, it’s just a game. There are more important things in life. So try to stay cheeky a little bit and enjoy it if possible.’
Klopp has become a top football manager in his post-playing career, but he is the first to admit that on the pitch himself, he wasn’t the best player.
That said, he was always important and his status in the team perhaps hinted at a future career on the sidelines.
‘I was a very average player. Obviously, I was not really good,’ he joked. ‘But I still played all the time in my championship team and for different reasons obviously, every coach, every manager thought I was an important part of the team.
‘I was the engine of the team. If something went wrong I told everybody and if possible, I told them how we can do better or what we have to do more of. I had that role even as a player.’
The Liverpool boss says he is friends with his players, but he is not their ‘best friend’
Liverpool were flying high at the top of the Premier League before all matches were postponed
Moving into management, he is still telling players how to do better… but he admits he also tries to be their friend and help them off the pitch if needed.
‘I’m the boss,’ Klopp notes. ‘I say who plays, I say when we train, I say what we do and training, I decide all these things. But in between these decisions, I can be their friend. I always explained it like this… I’m a friend of my players, but I’m not their best friend. I’m not the guy who understands everything but I try to.
‘I don’t pretend I’m interested, I am interested. They know pretty much all about me, about my wife and my sons… It’s important to know who you are working with and it’s important to know why somebody is determined and motivated.
‘Where are you coming from? Are you out there to earn money, which is fine, or are you here to make your family proud, or are you here to make a whole country proud? There are so many different things… I think I need to know them. That makes a relationship. They can talk to me and it’s always important.’
Jurgen Klopp was speaking as part of season 2 of JD’s In The Duffle Bag podcast series. Download from Apple, iTunes, Spotify and A-cast and leave a review to win £500 worth of JD vouchers.