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EPL manager Jurgen Klopp has attained celebrity status in Liverpool over the past two years owing to his achievements at the club. It comes as quite a surprise, therefore, that the German coach has only recently met Liverpool and EPL legend Steven Gerrard.
In an interview with the BBC, Klopp revealed his admiration for one of Liverpool's greatest ever players and described a chance encounter with the legendary EPL midfielder during a walk in the park. The German manager also explained the mindset of his players as the EPL prepares for a potential transition to relative normalcy.
"It's interesting because the four and a half years that I've lived in the town, I'd never met him. Six, sev,en or eight times I saw him for sure, walking with his kids and I'm on a run or a dog walk."
"We always keep a distance and it's easy, you can speak to another person when you are five or six meters apart."
"It's nice. I admired him as a player and I met him here. He's a great guy so it's always good to see him."
“One day I was on the phone with Gerard Houllier and met Steven Gerrard in the same moment, so that was really cool! These kind of things happen only in lockdown so some positive things happened for me as well.”
Klopp was also candid about his Liverpool squad's preparations ahead of a EPL restart in the future and stated that the unexpected break and leveled the playing field to a considerable extent. In addition to a few choice comments on Gary Neville, Klopp also answered questions related to the readiness of his players ahead of the restart.
"Football is a game where most of us are pretty much in the same situation. When we play against a team, we don't have to be at our all-time best."
"We have to do our best whenever possible, and it is the same for the other teams as well. When we start, every team will have had the same time for preparation."
EPL midfielder Steven Gerrard has always admired Klopp
It is a well-known fact that legendary EPL midfielder and former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is an admirer of Jurgen Klopp.
The EPL midfielder has stated in the past that he finds Klopp's unique ideas and methods fascinating. Gerrard is currently the manager at Rangers FC and continues to learn whatever he can from Klopp and his vast managerial experience. In an interview alongside Klopp in 2019, Gerrard lauded the manager's unique skill set.
"His ideas are different but he’s obviously getting a lot of joy and success from it. It’s something I will always remember if I’m ever at the stage where I have the amount of experience they’ve got."
The two Liverpool greats unfortunately never worked with each other during the time at the club. Gerrard's storied Liverpool career came to a close at the end of the 2014-15 EPL season, and Jurgen Klopp was appointed as the manager of Liverpool in the following season.
Under Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool has emerged as an EPL powerhouse and is one of the best teams in the league. Klopp also led the side to a UEFA Champions League triumph in the 2018-19 season.
