Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp on cooking, life after Anfield and how he would like to be remembered
Interviewing Jurgen Klopp the morning after Liverpool’s rare and humbling defeat to Atalanta in the Europa League at Anfield isn’t ideal timing.
After a sleepless night of analysing what did and didn’t happen, Klopp has already moved on to Sunday’s match against Crystal Palace: “This game was a low point from a performance point of view definitely,” he says.
“The good thing about a low point is it’s easy to improve, so you only have to make the next step and we have to show this immediately against Palace. In life and sports you can have setbacks, it’s all about the reaction.”
But it’s back-to-back disappointments for Liverpool after the draw with Manchester United last Sunday, and with no space for a wobble in this three-way title race he admits the Palace game has become massive.
“It would have been massive anyway but now with that one in mind [the loss to Atalanta] for the outside world it’s even more massive,” he says.
Liverpool’s 3-0 loss to Atalanta. Pic: Reuters
“What is better to wake you up than a loud alarm clock and obviously last night I can still hear the bells so that means we should be awake for that one.”
With just seven Premier League matches to go of his tenure, the pressure on the players is intense – no one wants to make the mistake that could take Liverpool out of the title race.
There are obviously nerves but Klopp says talking is key: “We talk and remind the boys of the things we are really good at because we are really good.
Klopp says he has never considered himself a great manager. Pic: Reuters
“That’s the reason we are where we are, we just have to show that every day and that’s now the situation. That’s not new, for some the situation might be a bit new but that’s when the more experienced players have to step in and lead the pack on the pitch.”
When he led Liverpool to the Premier League title in 2020, COVID meant the treasured trophy lift was to an empty stadium, but Klopp doesn’t view it as a missing moment from his life.
He says: “For me I’ve had enough parades and parties, it was never about that and it will never be (about that) but I would love to give the people the opportunity to celebrate something special and I think it would be right as well.
Liverpool’s Premier League win in 2020. Pic: Reuters
“I’m still happy we are still in that fight. I want to make sure we really go for it. Sometimes life and football are the same you need a proper smash to realise why you do what you do and we got that smash and we will use it.”
Having to juggle the squad this season, bringing in young players to seamlessly plug gaps has had its challenges, but Klopp laughs at the idea that it would be one of his greatest managerial achievements if they could win the league title.
Read more from Sky News:
LFC fan running 227 miles from Anfield to Grenfell
Former footballer diagnosed with cancer
Sky Sports extends deal with Women’s Super League
“I don’t care if that’s what that would mean – would that make me a great manager? I never considered myself a great manager. Never, ever in my life,” the football manager says.
“I am surprised until this day that people see me that way, that’s 100% true but I accept it that people see me like that.
Liverpool’s match against United ended 2-2. Pic: Reuters
“What’s important is that the Liverpool people are happy with what we did that’s the only important thing. I don’t need the comparison with Arsene Wenger or whatever. It doesn’t mean anything to me.
“On my gravestone, I don’t want ‘here is one of the most successful managers on the planet’ you are still lying three feet under. No not for me. I want to be remembered as somebody who helped people through life.”
Life after Anfield
Every match takes the 56-year-old German closer to the end of his story at Liverpool.
Pic: Reuters
Having shocked the footballing world by announcing in January that he would be quitting at the end of this season, he has no doubts whatsoever about his decision, saying it is “100%” right.
So what is his plan? Holidays? Gardening?
“There’s a few things Ulla [Klopp’s wife] told me – I have to learn cooking and a dance class,” he says.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
“I said you don’t want me to have a break because if I do that I will start working after four weeks again! I should learn cooking probably so I can at least make some breakfast or whatever.”
He continues to say: “This will be the first time in my life where I don’t have a real idea of what I will do and that’s exactly what I want.”
Pic: Reuters
When I ask if he can cook anything at all he replies: “No. Hot water, tea does that count?
“During COVID I did scrambled eggs but after that I forgot it again. I was raised in the Black Forest with two sisters, the only reason I knew where the kitchen was was because the smell came from there! I’m pretty useless in private life.”
I finish the interview with a hypothetical question about his send-off at Liverpool.
If he could pick one artist or band (alive or dead) to play at it who would it be and what would they sing?
Klopp in March. Pic: Reuters
“It’s Liverpool so it would be the Beatles 100%, they could easily choose the song because I love them all,” he says.
“Actually, the band that is alive is Die Toten Hosen, the translation is The Dead Pants. It’s a punk rock band and the lead singer Campino is a good friend of mine and the biggest LFC supporter on the planet – that would be the biggest day of his life.
“They sing in German so no one would understand but that’s fine,” Klopp adds, laughing at the idea of it.
UK
Teenager living in ‘continuous pain’ after surgeon Dr Yaser Jabbar carried out ‘inappropriate’ operations
A 15-year-old boy who was operated on twice by a now unlicensed Great Ormond Street surgeon is living with “continuous” pain.
Finias Sandu has been told by an independent review the procedures he underwent on both his legs were “unacceptable” and “inappropriate” for his age.
The teenager from Essex was born with a condition that causes curved bones in his legs.
Aged seven, a reconstructive procedure was carried out on Finias’s left leg, lengthening the limb by 3.5cm.
A few years later, the same operation was carried out on his right leg which involved wearing an invasive and heavy metal frame for months.
He has now been told by independent experts these procedures should not have taken place and concerns have been raised over a lack of imaging being taken prior to the operations.
Yaser Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence last year. Pic: LinkedIn
His doctor at London’s prestigious Great Ormond Street Hospital was former consultant orthopaedic surgeon Yaser Jabbar. Sky News has spoken to others he treated.
Mr Jabbar also did not arrange for updated scans or for relevant X-rays to be conducted ahead of the procedures.
The surgeries have been found to have caused Finias “harm” and left him in constant pain.
“The pain is there every day, every day I’m continuously in pain,” he told Sky News.
“It’s not something really sharp, although it does get to a certain point where it hurts quite a lot, but it’s always there. It just doesn’t leave, it’s a companion to me, just always there.”
Read more:
Girl who had leg amputated suffered harm during surgeon’s care
Child, 11, in wheelchair after surgeon’s operations
Hospital accused of ‘covering up’ concerns about suspended surgeon
Finias’s surgery pictures
Care of over 700 patients being assessed
Mr Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence in January last year after working at Great Ormond Street between 2017 and 2022.
The care of his 700-plus patients is being assessed, with some facing corrective surgery, among them Finias.
“Trusting somebody is hard to do, knowing what they have done to me physically and emotionally, you know, it’s just too much to comprehend for me,” he said.
“It wasn’t something just physically, like my leg pain and everything else. It was emotionally, because I put my trust in that specific doctor. My parents and I don’t really understand the more scientific terms, we just went by what he said.”
Doctors refused to treat Finias because of his surgeries
Finias and his family relocated to their native Romania soon after the reconstructive frame was removed from his right leg in the summer of 2021.
The pain worsened and they sought advice from doctors in Romania, who refused to treat Finias because of the impact of his surgeries.
Dozens of families seeking legal claims
His mother Cornelia Sandu is “furious” and feels her trust in the hospital has been shattered. They are now among dozens of families seeking legal claims.
Cyrus Plaza from Hudgell Solicitors is representing the family. He said: “In cases where it has been identified that harm was caused, we want to see Great Ormond Street Hospital agreeing to pay interim payments of compensation for the children, so that if they need therapy or treatment now, they can access it.”
Finias is accessing therapy and mental health support as he prepares for corrective surgery later in the year.
A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital told Sky News: “We are deeply sorry to Finias and his family, and all the patients and families who have been impacted.
“We want every patient and family who comes to our hospital to feel safe and cared for. We will always discuss concerns families may have and, where they submit claims, we will work to ensure the legal process can be resolved as quickly as possible.”
Finias with his mother and sister
Service not ‘safe for patients’
Sky News has attempted to contact Mr Jabbar.
An external review into the wider orthopaedic department at the hospital began in September 2022.
It was commissioned after the Royal College of Surgeons warned the hospital’s lower limb reconstruction service was not “safe for patients or adequate to meet demand”.
The investigation is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Sir Keir Starmer has said closer ties with the EU will be good for the UK’s jobs, bills and borders ahead of a summit where he could announce a deal with the bloc.
The government is set to host EU leaders in London on Monday as part of its efforts to “reset” relations post-Brexit.
A deal granting the UK access to a major EU defence fund could be on the table, according to reports – but disagreements over a youth mobility scheme and fishing rights could prove to be a stumbling block.
The prime minister has appeared to signal a youth mobility deal could be possible, telling The Times that while freedom of movement is a “red line”, youth mobility does not come under this.
His comment comes after Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said on Friday work on a defence deal was progressing but “we’re not there yet”.
Sir Keir met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen later that day while at a summit in Albania.
Ursula von der Leyen and Sir Keir had a brief meeting earlier this week. Pic: PA
If agreed, the deal will be the third in two weeks, following trade agreements with India and the US.
Sir Keir said: “First India, then the United States – in the last two weeks alone that’s jobs saved, faster growth and wages rising.
“More money in the pockets of British working people, achieved through striking deals not striking poses.
“Tomorrow, we take another step forward, with yet more benefits for the United Kingdom as the result of a strengthened partnership with the European Union.”
Read more:
Humza Yousaf hits out at Starmer’s ‘dog whistle’ stance on immigration
MPs criticise terminally ill Esther Rantzen’s assisted dying intervention
👉 Click here to follow Electoral Dysfunction wherever you get your podcasts 👈
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she is “worried” about what the PM might have negotiated.
Ms Badenoch – who has promised to rip up the deal with the EU if it breaches her red lines on Brexit – said: “Labour should have used this review of our EU trade deal to secure new wins for Britain, such as an EU-wide agreement on Brits using e-gates on the continent.
“Instead, it sounds like we’re giving away our fishing quotas, becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again and getting free movement by the back door. This isn’t a reset, it’s a surrender.”
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway