MY ACCOUNT
Jurgen Klopp believes coming up against the “world’s best manager” in Pep Guardiola so often would depress a lot of people — but not him.
After two seasons battling for the title when they were in charge of Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, Klopp and Guardiola are in their sixth year as opponents in the Premier League.
The German knows his trophy cabinet would be a lot fuller without Guardiola, but ahead of Sunday’s huge title showdown between Manchester City and Liverpool, he insisted it does not get him down.
The 54-year-old said: “If I would be a different person I would be, probably, a little bit depressed about the fact that Pep Guardiola is constantly coaching these kind of teams.
“Maybe in Dortmund we could’ve won more titles if Pep wouldn’t have been at Bayern.
“Now, it is pretty much the same, imagine if he would not be here, we probably could’ve won at least one more league title.
“But I am not like this, thank God. So, I am completely happy with our situation.
“I respect a lot what they do, it’s an insane football team. And, for me, the world’s best manager. So, that’s a combination which makes it quite tricky.
“But, the good news, they are human beings as well. So, we all feel in moments. We do, they do. You have to be strong enough to be there when they are ready to play.”
Fun to watch
Klopp also revealed that he enjoys preparing for games with City because of the football they play.
That is a good thing, with Sunday’s Premier League meeting quickly followed by an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley six days later.
“I couldn’t respect it more what they are doing. I like watching them,” he added.
“I cannot say I love a lot of opponents, or competitors, but I really like watching City. So, always when we play them, the analysis is a mix of serious work and real joy. It’s fantastic football.
“It’s, like, the next level — where can you go with the football team?
“They set up in a special way. They make it really difficult. They make the pitch big in moments. They make the pitch small in the right moments. They have sensational individuals and all these kinds of things.
“That’s the truth. I cannot hide that. But the good thing is we are not too bad as well. So that helps.”
