As a guest on the Toni Kroos podcast, former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp didn’t hold back when talking about the defining moments of his career, including the controversial 2018 Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid.
Retired since the end of last season, Toni Kroos has been stepping up his social networking activities. With his podcast, the former Germany international remains connected to football in his own way. This time, Toni Kroos has invited former Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp as his guest, the same man who lost two Champions League finals to Real Madrid in 2018 and 2022.
Indeed, when Klopp sat down opposite Toni Kroos to record the latest episode of the ‘Einfach mal Luppen’ podcast, he knew that he would not mince his words. From the outset, the German coach spoke of the difficulty of facing Real Madrid, a team he describes as ‘insensitive to pressure’ and endowed with ‘incomparable individual quality’. Against the Spanish champions, tactics often seem uncertain, as Klopp himself admits. ‘I’ve never found a team so difficult to decipher’.
🗣️ Toni Kroos: “Sometimes we had phases of ball possession, sometimes not at all. I imagine it was hard for coaches to prepare against us."
— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) October 30, 2024
🗣️ Jürgen Klopp: “I found it very hard to pin down. A lot of individual quality and incredible composure.” (Einfach mal Luppen) pic.twitter.com/vIY9ZHMou6
For his part, Toni Kroos laughs off that description and confirms Klopp’s impressions. According to the former No8, who is still missed by Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid alternate phases of possession with defensive phases, which makes it difficult for their opponents to prepare.
Jurgen Klopp returns to the sensitive subject of Salah’s injury in 2018
The discussion then took an interesting turn when Jurgen Klopp brought up a new subject on the minds of Liverpool fans, Mohammed Salah’s injury in the 2018 Champions League final. Liverpool’s most dramatic moment in recent years came in that match when Sergio Ramos, then captain of Real Madrid, drew the ire of the Reds. The iconic Madrid captain collided with Salah and sent him to the turf. The fall proved fatal for the Egyptian, who left the Champions League final with a broken leg. The injury even came close to preventing the Pharaoh from taking part in the Russia 2018 World Cup.
Jurgen Klopp ironically asked Toni Kroos: ‘When Ramos injured Salah in the final, was he really a good guy?’, a sign that the German coach’s feelings towards the former Real Madrid captain were never entirely clear. Toni Kroos, a former team-mate of Ramos‘ at Real Madrid, tried to defend him, describing Ramos as ’a very good team-mate’.
🗣️ Jürgen Klopp: “When Ramos took Mo Salah out of the CL final, is he actually a nice guy?”
— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) October 30, 2024
🗣️ Toni Kroos: “Mr Ramos is a very good teammate, YES.”
🗣️ Jürgen Klopp: “That is hard for me to believe. He’s not going to be my favorite player, but whatever.” 😂 (Einfach mal Luppen) pic.twitter.com/rq8KBwhbXe
Jurgen Klopp, true to form, is not so easily convinced. He smiles, but with a touch of irony when he replies: “I find it hard to believe. He won’t be my favourite player, but all right. There is inevitably a hint of bitterness in Klopp’s smile about this final, where Liverpool’s hopes were dashed because of this incident. Toni Kroos does not waver from his stance, even when it comes to Klopp’s opinion, mentioning that Ramos has always been a great team-mate for him.
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