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Jurgen Klopp reveals the best player he has managed

Liverpool boasts phenomenal players like Philippe Coutinho, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and many more but the Liverpool boss did not pick any of them.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool, November 10: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has revealed the best player he has ever worked with.

The German boss has worked with a host of top-class players in his managerial career. His current club Liverpool boasts phenomenal players like Philippe Coutinho, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and many more but the Liverpool boss did not pick any of them.

When asked who is the best player he has worked with in his career so far, Klopp told Soccer Laduma: "Mario Gotze.”

"He was unbelievable. The biggest improvement, though, was Robert Lewandowski.

"I keep in contact with a lot of my Dortmund players. They were young when I coached them, so I was like a father to them.

"When I left Dortmund, it’s not so important what people think when you come, it’s more important what they think when you leave."

Gotze came through the Dortmund academy and was handed his debut by Klopp during the 2009-10 campaign. He then netted two Bundesliga titles in the next two seasons before making a £31.5million move to rivals Bayern Munich that created a lot of controversies.

Gotze struggled to make the same impact at Bayern, despite scoring the winning goal in the 2014 World Cup final, before returning to Dortmund in the summer of 2016 for £20million.

His progress has been blighted by illness since his homecoming.

However, he is now back as a regular starter under Peter Bosz although he nowhere near where he was destined to be when he stunned the world as a youngster.

Klopp also stated that he snubbed a Premier League rival of Liverpool’s for failing to understand football.

The German was linked with Manchester City and Chelsea while at Borussia Dortmund but chose Anfield as his next project. He was also linked with the Manchester United job.

Klopp did not reveal the name of the club but said, “Why Liverpool? I had an offer of another historical English club two years ago, but I never felt comfortable with how they understood football.

"It didn’t feel right. When Liverpool called, I can’t explain it. It was right. We have to improve, 100 per cent. But we will. We are fine and the owners are happy. Liverpool is a fantastic club, and my aim is to win the Premier League with it.”

Story first published: Friday, November 10, 2017, 11:37 [IST]
Other articles published on Nov 10, 2017