Rob Edwards shared a great anecdote that sums up Jurgen Klopp’s personality.
The two teams met twice in the Premier League last season, with Luton drawing 1-1 with Liverpool at Kenilworth Road and losing 1-4 at Anfield. But in the latter game, the Hatters surprisingly went ahead and the Reds dominated the game.
The 41-year-old spoke about his former LFC boss on the High Performance Podcast, telling an anecdote about a game on Merseyside in February this year.
Edwards said of Klopp: “He was great. He put his arm around me when we came in. They beat us 4-1. We were 1-0 up at half-time and played really well, but ultimately they were too good. Anfield is Anfield.
“Anfield was incredible that night. It was just amazing. He came in after the game and put his arm around me. I was looking at a picture of him with the Champions League trophy and he said, ‘How old are you?’ I said, ‘I’m 41.’
“He said, ‘When I was your age you were so far away from winning trophies’. Then he said it could be your time and he loved what you were doing and the way you worked with the team and all that, and I thought, ‘Wow!’ This is Jurgen Klopp. This is one of the people who inspires me.”
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Edwards added: “It was really nice to be able to sit down and spend time with him. I know they’re really busy and demanding, so it means a lot to me that he makes time for me.”
Luton were eventually relegated, but the manager was widely praised for his integrity and hard work, as well as his dignified and refined character, particularly the way he handled Tom Lockyer when he collapsed on the pitch in the win over Bournemouth.
At 41, Klopp had already been in charge of Mainz for seven years and was on the verge of taking over Borussia Dortmund. Little did we know at the time that he would go on to manage four Champions League finals and win one, and his message to Edwards must have been a source of immense pride for the Hatters boss.
Both men carry themselves with immense warmth on a daily basis and we would love to see Edwards return to the Premier League one day. He showed last season that he can certainly hold his own in the top flight of English football.
Edwards’ comments on Klopp can be seen below (43:21) on the High Performance Podcast on YouTube.
