The Carabao Cup yielded plenty of memorable moments under Klopp and could offer Slot the perfect chance to kickstart his Anfield reign. Jurgen Klopp could not keep the smile from his face.
After his injury-ravaged Liverpool side defied the odds to topple Chelsea in last season’s Carabao Cup final, the elated Reds boss declared it was “easily the most special trophy (he’d) ever won”.
Out of context, his comments could easily be dismissed as an emotional reaction from a manager drunk on post-match euphoria. After all, this is a coach who had already won both the Champions League and Premier League, two of the greatest prizes in club football, during his storied Anfield career.
But when you consider the extraordinary manner in which the game was won, thanks in no small part to the remarkable efforts of several academy fledglings, Klopp’s claim does not appear so outlandish.
Of course, it would be naïve to expect such a herculean effort to be replicated this term – not least because it would demand that the Reds suffer a similarly catastrophic injury crisis – but defending the title would be a pretty special way to kickstart the Arne Slot era in earnest.The Carabao Cup is something of an alien concept for the Dutchman.
In his native Netherlands, there is only one domestic cup competition – the KNVB Cup, which he won with Feyenoord – to contest.
“The Premier League has four extra games compared to Eredivisie and the League Cup,” Slot said when quizzed last week on the disparities between the football calendars in England and his homeland.
That’s the main difference.”In spite of Klopp’s delight following February’s historic triumph over Chelsea, he was not always the Carabao Cup’s strongest proponent.
He voiced his frustration over the two-legged semi-final and, in the early years of his tenure, was accused of not taking the competition seriously.
That he won it twice during his time at Liverpool should debunk that myth however it is true that the cup was not always at the top of the German’s priority list. The fact that he regularly delegated his pre-match media duties to assistant Pep Lijnders is proof enough of that.
For Slot, however, the opportunity to get a trophy in the bag before Spring rolls around should be an inviting one. While the competition may rank fourth on the list of English football’s most prestigious prizes, Liverpool’s love affair with the League Cup still renders it a special prize in the eyes of many Reds’ supporters.Liverpool have won the competition a record 10 times, twice more than any other club.
It has provided a plethora of memorable moments over the years, from that penalty shootout victory in the Reds’ treble-winning 2000/01 season to the exploits of the aptly anointed ‘Kop Kids’ earlier this year.“It’s very important because it’s the next one, the next game we play and that’s always the most important one,” Slot said on Tuesday.
And I know the history of this club, I know what happened last year and I know how special winning a cup can be.“We are far away from that because it’s only the first game and a lot have to be played, and we have a difficult tie against West Ham. Fortunately at home. It’s a game to look forward to and an important one, as always the next game is.
He added: “Not only fans love winning trophies, players do and managers do as well. We all love to win something but that’s far away, we have to play our first game of this tournament tomorrow. And like I said, it’s a tough one with West Ham United at home.
But it’s always nice to win something and I know the history of the club, they won it a lot of times, recently last season in a very special way with so many youngsters on the pitch in the final.
If you won it last season, we are aware of the fact we won it last season and we are the holders of that trophy so we have to protect that, is that the right word to use? Maybe not perfect. But we’re going to give everything to win it again, let’s put it that way.
Quite how eager Slot is to protect Liverpool’s crown will become clearer when the team news is circulated on Wednesday night. The Dutchman is likely to rotate to offer much-needed minutes to some players on the fringes of his squad however he will know there is still an expectation for the Reds to have the quality to advance to the fourth round.
Winning the Carabao Cup as a new manager is, of course, no guarantee of success – just ask Erik ten Hag, who is yet to convince many fans he is the right man to take Manchester United forward, despite having won two domestic trophies.
But, for Slot, the competition represents a chance to write another chapter in Liverpool’s rich history and set the tone for what will hopefully be a successful Anfield career.
