It will be a case of Jurgen Klopp’s past and future meeting when Liverpool take on RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Following his summer exit from Anfield, the former Liverpool boss will start a new role as Red Bull’s head of global soccer in the new year.
The role will see him work closely with Leipzig as well as other clubs in the Red Bull franchise. It will also see him reunited with former player and Leipzig manager Marco Rose, whom he managed during his time at Mainz.
Klopp is therefore likely to be watching the Champions League clash at the Red Bull Arena with great interest. Liverpool go into the game having won both of their matches in the competition so far under new boss Arne Slot.“He always brought a lot of energy into our team,” he said.
Maybe we would be feeling weak but he came in and gave us the confidence, the power to play the next match and to believe in yourself, to believe that every situation can be turned around.
As a coach, you can learn a lot from him. We might not always have been of the same opinion, but how he leads a group is unique, his honesty. Then it is especially about defending that I learned from him a lot.
He is a great personality and a great person. I loved working together with him and I’m happy that we’ll work together again.”The RB Leipzig boss also outlined how he can still see Klopp’s influence on the current Liverpool team, despite slight changes that Slot has made since arriving at Anfield.
I wouldn’t say it has really changed,” he said.“The game is Liverpool is very intense. Still Liverpool are very strong in pressing situations, they defend very well, it is an intense game. They are a very robust team, physically strong on and off the ball.
It is the same character Liverpool had under Klopp, very dominant like in the old days. Slot does it in his own way of course with some different mechanisms but everything is clear.
They are uncomfortable to defend against with high quality, a lot of vertical play, and a lot of possession.
