Classic Jurgen Klopp
Whilst most of his contemporaries are playing it safe and offering the standard banal soundbites ahead of the new season, you can rely on Jurgen Klopp to add a bit of levity and personality to proceedings. Ahead of Liverpool’s enticing opener with newly promoted Leeds United, the genial German referenced the infamous 2018/19 ‘Spygate’ controversy in some gentle banter ahead of the stand-out game of the weekend.
Referring to Leeds’ manager Marcelo Bielsa as a “proper character” of the game and praising his incomparable work ethic, Klopp recalled the notorious press conference that the veteran Argentine coach provided to a perplexed media contingent as he responded to criticism for ‘spying’ on Frank Lampard’s Derby County by explaining in great detail how to beat them using detailed analysis and numerous spreadsheets.
Klopp chuckled about the instance, and when then asked whether Bielsa had sent anyone with binoculars to Liverpool’s Melwood training complex ahead of Saturday’s tie, the Liverpool manager laughed and responded, “We didn’t see any suspicious people around our training ground this week.” Whether he is still laughing on Saturday evening will depend very much on whether the defending champions can pick up where they left off last season.
🕵🏼♂️ "We didn't see any suspicious people around our training ground this week…"
📺 Klopp on "proper character" Marcelo Bielsa, who is "maybe the hardest working of all of us (managers)" pic.twitter.com/6k8dUYvnVC
— This Is Anfield (@thisisanfield) September 11, 2020
