Jurgen Klopp press conference: The highlights

Mark Holmes
Ian Ayre (r): Stepping down at the end of next season

Ian Ayre (r): Stepping down at the end of next season

Jurgen Klopp spoke about Liverpool’s history, ending their title drought and why he is the ‘normal one’ in his first press conference.

Klopp put in a hugely impressive performance in his first official outing as Liverpool manager on Friday morning, with former Reds defender John Arne Riise claiming he had “never seen a better press conference from a new manager.

Here are some of the highlights….

On what attracted him to the Liverpool job

“It’s a good moment to come here and I feel very proud. It’s how the people here live football. It’s a special club.

“It’s the biggest honour I can imagine, one of the biggest clubs in the world. I’ve been given the opportunity to help in this situation, but it’s not so difficult as some people in this room think.

“It’s not a normal, usual club, it’s a special club.”

On Anfield

“I’m not a dreamer but I’m a football romantic and I love all the stories about this – Anfield is one of the best places for this.

“Now I’m here, I’m a really lucky guy.

“I’m looking forward to the first training, the first match.

“I’m relaxed, I’m prepared.”

On his work at Dortmund

“It’s not important. We did in Dortmund what we had to do to improve the players, to work with them.

“That’s what we did but they are not the same players [here].

“But I believe in the potential of the team.”

On the Liverpool squad

“This is a great club with big potential, fast players, strong players, good defenders.

“Everything is there. Four or five strikers you can work with when they are not injured; midfielders; defenders are experienced and young; goalkeeper is really good.”

On his break from football

“I had a normal holiday. I am 48 and most of the time in my life I had no money to take a holiday and then I had no time.

“Then I had four months. I played a lot of tennis, watched football all over the world. Of course I thought I had until next year.”

On Jose Mourinho describing himself as the ‘Special One’ in his first press conference as Chelsea manager

“I don’t want to describe myself.

“I’m a totally normal guy, I came from the Black Forest.

“I’m the Normal One.”

On style Liverpool will play under him

“I’m not here today to speak too much about football and I didn’t meet my team until now.

“First of all I want to talk to them about football.

“It’s emotion inside, it’s speed. It’s a transition game.”

On Liverpool’s title drought

“Twenty-five years ago (Liverpool’s last title) is a long time. In this time all people have tried to get better, to improve, to take the next title.

“History is only the base for us. It is all the people are interested in but you don’t take history in your backpack and carry it with you for 25 years.

“We can wait for it, but I don’t want to say we can wait 20 years. If we sit here in four years I think we’ll have won one title – I’m pretty sure.

“If not, next time [I will manage] in Switzerland.”

On changing players’ attitutes

“It’s important that we play our own game. It’s important that the player feels the difference from now on.

“We have to change from doubter to believer.

“We have to change something and then see what we can achieve.”

On potentially becoming a Liverpool legend

“I don’t compare myself with genius managers of Liverpool.

“It’s cool that some of you, and the fans are looking forward to the next few years and months, but none of these (past) managers said ‘my target is to be a legend’. This is a great club because of many, many great decisions in the past, now we have to work in the present.”

“I had two very special clubs before and this role is the perfect next step for me.”

On Liverpool’s transfer committee

“It’s enough for me to have the first and last word. We only want to discuss really good players.

“I’m not a genius, I don’t know more than the rest of the world. I need the other people to get perfect information. It’s really easy to handle it.”

Discuss Klopp’s first press conference in the new-look Liverpool Your Say forum.