It might be the fixture that divides a city but Jurgen Klopp admits that he will not miss everything that surrounds the Merseyside Derby.
With the time rapidly ticking down on the tenure of Klopp at Liverpool, questions often arise regarding what certain fixtures have meant to him during his time at the club.
With the games coming thick and fast and with Liverpool still in the hunt for a Premier League title, Klopp has often said there will come a time for in depth reflection, but at this stage he mind his focused on more important things.
Klopp comes into his 19th and final fixture against Everton having only lost game which came at Anfield behind closed doors during the Pandemic in 2021.
While Liverpool remain unbeaten at Goodison Park under Klopp, there have only been two wins to go along with five draws.
Speaking to the media ahead of the pivotal clash, the manager gave a insight into how energy sapping the occasion is (per the Guardian).
“Around the derby is just pressure.
“The pressure is higher so why should the joy be higher? You win it, great; but why should I miss the pressure around it? This time, when you’re really playing for something, that’s the pressure. But when you are both not in a great moment, it’s the one game you definitely have to win. That kind of pressure – why would I miss that? It’s not enjoyable.”
Klopp broadened his discussion to include the overall role of a manager, a true indication that his upcoming sabbatical from the game is vitally important for his own mental wellbeing.
“ Everyone else can only watch it and think: ‘Oh my God, it looks exciting.’ But somebody has to make the decisions, somebody has to do this, somebody has to do that. So many people always visit me around the games and say: ‘We will not see that any more or that any more,’ and I just want to tell them – I work all the time while you just watch the games.
"I’m constantly in it. Even when the game is over I can’t switch off. It’s not great to be in this situation all the time. Maybe other people enjoy that more than me. But that’s something I definitely will not miss.”
“I had my last European game last week [against Atalanta]. Yes we didn’t go through and you can make a big story of it being my last game but I just tried to figure out how I felt, and it was nothing. It’s not like I felt I would never have a European game again. If that would be the case, then I wouldn’t stop it.”
Klopp is the first to admit that it takes many contrasting styles to win a Football game and not every manager is blessed with a team full of technical quality, but that does not mean he enjoys the physical nature of some specific fixtures.
"(The Derby) used to be [the most physical game],” he said. “At the beginning I remember I showed the players videos of [Jamie] Carragher in the derby and Stevie [Gerrard] where he got red cards – I love one, and respect the other a lot. That’s what people expect, that if you get a red card against Everton it’s fine. It’s not, it’s absolutely not, because we want to win the game and it’s the only reason why we go there.
“At the beginning there were a few situations where I thought it was over the top. Since then it has become a bit settled and I hope it stays like this because it should. At the beginning I thought: ‘Wow, that’s what they are allowed to do?’ and I didn’t get that.
"But I had to learn all these things over the years. Everything that makes it a really special football game, with all the ups and downs in a game and the good and bad, I’m fully in for it. When it goes over the top, I’m absolutely not.”
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