Jurgen Klopp and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are one in the same.
Both men are all-in with their club. Be it as players or managers, Klopp and Solksjaer put it all on the line.
Back in 2014, Solskjaer was in at the deep-end with Premier League strugglers Cardiff. With his own side battling relegation, he was asked for his take on the title charge being put together by Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool.
“Couldn’t care less,” he replied before walking off.
The truthful, brusque comments further endeared him to the Manchester United fans that sang his name from the stands during his playing days.
There will be a similar reaction from the red side of Liverpool, this week, after Klopp was asked for his take on the Premier League title chances of Manchester clubs City and United.
The Reds have beaten Liverpool at Anfield and drew with United at Old Trafford, on Sunday, so it was not an altogether unreasonable question. SportsJOE’s Tony Barrett was at the press briefing and relayed Klopp’s blunt yet honest response:
Jurgen Klopp is asked if the Manchester clubs can still have a say in the title race. "Especially about this I do not care," he says.
— Tony Barrett (@TonyBarrett) January 17, 2017
It is a fair comment to make. Liverpool have enough to be worried about in keeping up with league-leading Chelsea than concerning themselves with the efforts of fifth place City or sixth place United.
He could have uttered some meaningless platitudes about both sides but he has no time for that.
What he did have time for, however, was another dig at United’s tactics near the end of Sunday’s 1-1 draw. Klopp said:
“At the end, we cannot ignore the power and potential of United. When you see who plays and who came on, it’s not bad.”
Needing an equaliser with 15 minutes to go, Jose Mourinho opted to throw on midfielder Marouane Fellaini instead of young striker Marcus Rashford. Duly noted by Klopp…
