Jürgen Klopp Reveals Thoughts on Being Humble, His Relationship With Liverpool Players & More

Jürgen Klopp has provided an insight into his managerial style and a glimpse into his personal life, with his Liverpool side's title charge paused as a consequence of the coronavirus outbreak.

Klopp is often candid with the media and on this occasion he touched on topics as diverse as his playing career, becoming a father at a young age and his deep relationship with the Liverpool players.

Here are some of the highlights of the interview...

On Expectations of Success at Liverpool

"We are Liverpool, so that means we have to be successful. So that's what everybody expects.

"You don't have to convince any player and tell him. By the way, don't forget, you are Liverpool and we have to do more."

On Being Humble

"Everyone should be humble because why shouldn't you be humble? What reason do you have to feel like something special? The boys [players] have a special life. They earn a lot of money, but they cannot go out without anybody watching them.

"Every week the whole world is watching them and they’re still very young. What they need is faith and trust. They have to realise it's possible to make the biggest mistakes ever in public and life goes on as long as you have the right people around you."

On Being Lucky

"You can be the best manager in the world, but go in the wrong club and it can kill careers. That's how it is.

"I'm not sure if I would recommend a job, but my job I could easily recommend because I was really lucky."

On His Time as a Player

Jurgen Klopp playing for Mainz 05 in 1999/00  #LFC pic.twitter.com/FOo5gmqC42
— FPL General (@FPLGeneral) April 3, 2017

Klopp spent the vast majority of his career playing for Mainz but he also had spells at various amateur clubs.

"I was a very average player. Obviously, I was not really good. 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."

On Being a Young Father

"A lot of players asked me for advice about life. I was a young father, so I had the problems they had now twelve years before, when I was 20/21.

"I learned how life changes when you become a father. So that's what prepared me to have that kind of experience, to make the next step to be the coach or manager. It felt really natural for me because it was overnight. Sunday, I played. Monday, was the manager."

On Having a Deeper Relationship With His Players

"I'm the boss. 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."

On Switching Off From His Hectic Schedule

"I'm still working on it, but it's much better than when I was young. My assistant who is in his mid-30s struggles with it, but it's normal.

"At his age, he has no clue how to switch off, to be honest. So it will never stop. We have all these ways of self-protecting. You will protect yourself at one point from over working because it cannot constantly be like this…you have to switch learn to switch off."

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.

Source : 90min