There were tears, there was a presentation of fake trophies with the vase of Steven Gerrard and a famous German singer lay in the rain in front of the house of Jürgen Klopp after Liverpool last met Real Madrid in a Champions League final. Needless to say, the Liverpool coach wants a different ending in Paris. But as a starting point for the recovery of a team that could win a second Champions League in four seasons on Saturday, there is a strong and elaborate argument for making those moments in Formby on the morning of May 27, 2018.
Liverpool would rather forget the 3-1 defeat in Kyiv the night before (Sergio Ramos, Mohamed Salah, Salt Bae, Lorius Karius and Gareth Bale is a good summary) and the next day could have gone the same way for Klopp, but by a The video of him partying with lead singer Die Toten Hosen went viral.
“We saw the European Cup, Madrid was very lucky, we swear we will remain handsome, we will return to Liverpool,” the Liverpool coach sang in his kitchen with Andreas Frege, alias Campino. Without any masterpieces, certainly, but as a means to show the world that Liverpool were ready to move on, he was inspired. The finish line was prophetic when Klopp won the trophy in Madrid, beating Tottenham in the final 12 months later.
“It started out as one of the worst nights of my life,” Klopp recalls. His memories of a foggy night are worth reading in their entirety. “The return flight was obviously awful. The feeling was low. The families were on another plane, and the worst moment was yet to come: facing family and friends.
“It simply came to our notice then [Liverpool’s then training ground] on our bus, all the women, friends, friends, everyone was crying. Amazing. We weren’t crying. I cry quite often in similar situations, but not that day, as it was okay, a bit. It was a football game, there were strange circumstances, but everyone was crying. My agent was crying! I was going, ‘What’s going on?’
Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool players applaud their fans after the defeat in Kyiv. Photo: Tom Jenkins / The Guardian
“It was morning and then we went to the house and let a few people in. It’s Stevie G’s old house, so there was still some furniture. There was a big vase in the guest toilet and Peter Krawietz [assistant manager] he goes into the bathroom and grabs the vase, shouting, ‘Yes! It looks like a Champions League trophy! ‘ Everyone grabbed him and took pictures with him. “Oh, that’s how it feels.”
“One of the guests is probably Germany’s most famous singer, Campino, a good friend and a big LFC fan, like a massive madman all his life. Then the song begins. We were all drunk, it was a little rainy, We sang it and recorded it on a smartphone, and then someone said, “We have to get it out, the world needs it, too. It’s not a good time when you’re a little drunk to make a decision like this.” he called his home agency and said, “Tap it on Twitter.”
Jürgen Klopp holds the 2019 Champions League trophy after Liverpool beat Tottenham in the final. Photo: Toby Melville / Reuters
“They said, ‘Wait, wait, wait, let’s talk to Jürgen; do you really want it Campino was lying outside with his socks, in the rain, on the grass … “Jürgen, Jürgen!” Do you really want to do that? ‘ ‘Yes, of course.’ So bam, I was out. Then it all started, but it went well. It represented the mood we were in. We had already overcome it. The new season has already begun and it started with that. “
The party ended “sometime in the afternoon”, according to Klopp, who left Merseyside the next day to spend a well-deserved holiday and prepare for a season that would end Liverpool’s sixth European victory. “It’s really better to suffer together, much better in fact, than sitting alone with your thoughts. It’s not great, ”he says.“ We had the best time of our lives, but a good time. It was a holiday the next day, and that was good. “
The bounce of setbacks has been a topic of Klopp’s Liverpool reign. After being deflated on the final day of the Premier League season last Sunday, when he lost the title by one point to Manchester City, he must respond again at the Stade de France to add the Champions League to his achievements in the FA and the Carabao Cup. In Kyiv in 2018, Klopp felt that his team would be stronger because of the pain of losing to Real Madrid.
“I remember a little light while standing in the queue at the airport where we had to pass a security check,” he said. “I felt so bad that maybe I just wanted to think there was a light somewhere, I don’t know. But I thought, ‘Yeah, we can go back next year.’ I only remembered it a year later. I’ve thought about it all throughout the Champions League campaign [in 2019] but when we qualified for the final I remembered that moment at the airport.
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“If I had known that next year’s final was in Madrid, I would have thought: ‘We will definitely have to go back’. I can’t explain it. It was not a clear idea that from here we would go from the bottom and start again like a phoenix. It was just that moment. I really think our Champions League history so far is very special. And it must continue. “