Klopp Declares Himself ‘Super Happy’ with His Liverpool Legacy

Liverpool's German manager Juergen Klopp celebrates after his team victory at the end of the English League Cup quarter-final football match between Liverpool and West Ham United at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on December 20, 2023. (AFP)
Liverpool's German manager Juergen Klopp celebrates after his team victory at the end of the English League Cup quarter-final football match between Liverpool and West Ham United at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on December 20, 2023. (AFP)
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Klopp Declares Himself ‘Super Happy’ with His Liverpool Legacy

Liverpool's German manager Juergen Klopp celebrates after his team victory at the end of the English League Cup quarter-final football match between Liverpool and West Ham United at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on December 20, 2023. (AFP)
Liverpool's German manager Juergen Klopp celebrates after his team victory at the end of the English League Cup quarter-final football match between Liverpool and West Ham United at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on December 20, 2023. (AFP)

Outgoing manager Juergen Klopp's nine-year spell at Liverpool may have included some big near-misses, but the German manager said he has no regrets for the ones that got away.

Under Klopp, Liverpool lost the Premier League by a single point in 2018-19 - but they roared back to win it the following season.

They also lost the Champions League final in 2017-18 only to clinch that title the next year.

The initial setbacks did nothing to weaken his resolve, Klopp told "The Times."

"If my career didn’t teach me how to deal with setbacks, then there is no career for that," Klopp told the paper ahead of his last game as Liverpool manager on Sunday, at home against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

"Millimeters, inches decided things for us. I know for people it makes a massive difference if I won more. If I win three, I am definitely a successful manager. If I win one in nine years, people can argue it. But I couldn't care less.

"From time to time you get it and from time to time they get it. I'm at peace with it."

Klopp said he felt responsible for the process of change Liverpool would have to go through following his departure but added that he knew this was unavoidable.

"There's a lot of uncertainty for the people, and I didn't want that for them. But I knew if I did it in another year or another two years, it would be exactly the same for these people," he said.

"That cannot be the reason for not doing it. I had to overcome that. I had to think of myself first, which doesn't happen a lot, actually."

During his tenure Liverpool also won a Club World Cup title, an FA Cup and two League Cups, and the 56-year-old said that overall he was happy with the memories he has made at Liverpool.

"Could it have been more successful? Yes. With me? I don't know. We did absolutely everything. I am very self-critical but I do not reflect on this in a critical way. I am super happy with my time here... I look back with a smile," he said.



England Coach Southgate Targeted After a 0-0 Draw with Slovenia at Euro 2024 

England's head coach Gareth Southgate gestures to fans after the UEFA Euro 2024 Group C football match between England and Slovenia at the Cologne Stadium in Cologne on June 25, 2024. (AFP)
England's head coach Gareth Southgate gestures to fans after the UEFA Euro 2024 Group C football match between England and Slovenia at the Cologne Stadium in Cologne on June 25, 2024. (AFP)
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England Coach Southgate Targeted After a 0-0 Draw with Slovenia at Euro 2024 

England's head coach Gareth Southgate gestures to fans after the UEFA Euro 2024 Group C football match between England and Slovenia at the Cologne Stadium in Cologne on June 25, 2024. (AFP)
England's head coach Gareth Southgate gestures to fans after the UEFA Euro 2024 Group C football match between England and Slovenia at the Cologne Stadium in Cologne on June 25, 2024. (AFP)

Top of the group, unbeaten and on the favorable side of the draw for the knockout phase of Euro 2024. It’s a case of job done for England at this stage of the tournament.

Try telling that to the fans who jeered loudly and threw plastic cups as the final whistle blew on a 0-0 draw with Slovenia at Cologne Stadium on Tuesday.

Criticism of England's performances in Germany has been fierce.

“I’ve not seen any team qualify and receive similar,” manager Gareth Southgate said.

Southgate believes he and his England team could be paying the price for its success under his leadership. Safe passage through to the round of 16 maintains his personal record of advancing from the group stage of every major tournament he's taken charge of, dating back to the World Cup in 2018.

“I think probably expectation (is different). We’ve made England over the last six or seven years fun again. I think it has been enjoyable for the players,” Southgate said. “We’ve got to be very, very careful that it stays that way.”

England hasn't been fun to watch at these Euros with a 1-0 win against Serbia its only victory in Group C. That was followed by a 1-1 draw with Denmark and the scoreless draw with Slovenia.

Three games, two goals and a whole lot of underwhelmed fans.

The performance against Denmark was apparently so uninspired that former captain and now BBC presenter Gary Lineker used an expletive to describe it. And despite claiming he was “oblivious” to Lineker's stinging critique, it contributed to the “unusual environment” Southgate said he was working in at this tournament.

The atmosphere was hardly helped by plastic cups being thrown on the field as Southgate and his players went to applaud England supporters after the match.

“I’m not going to back down from going over and thanking the fans who were brilliant during the game," he said. “They might feel differently towards me. But for me, we only will succeed if we are together.”

Southgate led England to the semifinals of the World Cup in 2018 and the final of the last Euros. But his team will likely need a sharp upturn in form if it is to live up to its pre-tournament billing as one of the favorites for the European title.

Still, England has at least ended up on the opposite side of the draw to Spain, France, Germany and Portugal and will play one of the best third-place teams in the next round after advancing as group winner.

“That was the aim before the start of the tournament. Come top of the group and control our destiny,” captain Harry Kane said.

The result also meant Slovenia reached the round of 16 for the first time and Croatia was eliminated.

“We are such a small country, with such a big heart and mental strength. That’s why I’m very proud of my team,” coach Matjaz Kek said. “This is only the beginning for a new and beautiful era for Slovenian football.”

While it was a proud night for Slovenians, it was another performance that highlighted England’s attacking issues, with substitute Cole Palmer coming closest to scoring a winner in stoppage time.

“You can’t go into every game with such pressure and score four goals. Football doesn’t work like that,” Southgate said. “It is important to win the group to control your own destiny.”

A masked Kylian Mbappé scored his first goal of the Euros, but France drew 1-1 with Poland to finish runner-up in Group D behind Austria, which beat the Netherlands 3-2.

Mbappé wore a protective mask after breaking his nose in France’s opening game against Austria and scored from the penalty spot. But Robert Lewandowski’s twice-taken spot kick gave already eliminated Poland its first point of the tournament.