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.



Football Returns to War-torn Sudan as Elite Clubs Go Back Home

A Sudanese protester waves the national flag near the military headquarters in the capital Khartoum. (AFP)
A Sudanese protester waves the national flag near the military headquarters in the capital Khartoum. (AFP)
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Football Returns to War-torn Sudan as Elite Clubs Go Back Home

A Sudanese protester waves the national flag near the military headquarters in the capital Khartoum. (AFP)
A Sudanese protester waves the national flag near the military headquarters in the capital Khartoum. (AFP)

League football has returned to war-torn Sudan for the first time in more than two years with a one-month competition being organized for eight clubs to determine the country’s champions.

Sudan has been in the grip of conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces since April 2023, with more than 150,000 people killed and about 12 million uprooted, creating the largest displacement crisis in the world.

Among them have been the country’s biggest clubs Al Hilal and Al Merrikh, who between them have won all but four of the championships since the league was created in 1965, according to Reuters.

Last season, the pair were invited to play in the league in Mauritania, on the other side of the continent, where they could remain active and moved their club structures to the West African country, where Al Hilal emerged as champions.

But they are both back in Sudan to take part in a tournament to decide which clubs will compete in continental club competition for the 2025/26 season.

Al Hilal were quarter-finalists in this year’s African Champions League despite having to host their home games on neutral territory.

They were also weekend winners against Al Merghani Kassala in the first round of the Sudanese Elite Championship, which is being played at Ad-Damer, some 430km from the capital Khartoum, which has been badly damaged by the civil war.

Matches in the tournament are also being hosted in Atbara, which is 320km north of Khartoum.

There will be seven rounds of fixtures, and Al Merrikh also got off to a winning start over the weekend by beating Ahly Madani 1-0. Their derby against Al Hilal is set for the last day of competition on 22 July.

The other clubs competing are Zamalek, Umm Rawaba, Al Amal Atbara, Hay Al Wadi Nyala and Merrikh Al Abyad, who will all each play each other once.

Sudan’s national team, who will compete in the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco at the end of the year and are also chasing a first-ever World Cup appearance next year, have not played a home match since March 2023.