Addressing the media for the last time at AXA Training Centre, Jürgen Klopp reflected on his nine-year tenure on Merseyside. Widely viewed as one of the most influential managers in the club’s history, the German will take charge of the technical area for the final time on Sunday as Liverpool host Wolves.
Klopp took charge of a Liverpool side in turmoil back in 2015, revitalising a tired side that would go on to lift the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League under his guidance.
Perhaps expectedly, the last week has been an emotional one for Klopp – one he billed as ‘the most intense week of my life, definitely’ in his press conference on Friday morning.
Embed from Getty Images‘I said so often goodbye this week, to so many people [and had] great moments already. We don’t have to pretend it’s a normal week, because it isn’t. But on the other side, looking at the game, I said it as well this week already – I’m a very pragmatic person and very often I try to just save myself.’
The German offered an insight into his farewells, adding that on Thursday ‘the players said goodbye in their way – we had a little barbeque here [at AXA] that was really nice.’
[On Tuesday], ‘I was with the staff of Chapel Street, which was really, really nice. [We had] something in the stadium after that, another goodbye celebration. It’s a lot, I had very emotional moments of course in between. It’s a lot to do as well – I don’t know how many shirts exactly I signed last week, but there were a few, let me say it like that!’
‘But it’s all part of the thing,’ he acknowledged.
‘Saying goodbye – I don’t think it’s ever nice but saying goodbye without feeling sad or feeling hurt, that would mean that the time you spent together was not right and not great. And we had a great time, so it was always clear it will be tough and I know it will be tough.’