Borussia Dortmund midfielder Mario Gotze has praised Jurgen Klopp for the impact the Liverpool manager has had on the Germany international’s career.
Gotze, was part of Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund side who won back-to-back Bundesliga titles between 2010 and 2012, before he left to join rivals Bayern Munich in the summer of 2013.
The German midfielder has revealed that Klopp’s faith in him when he was a teenager at Borussia Dortmund was instrumental in his career, and Gotze was full of admiration for the Liverpool manager’s ability to both improve and mange his players.
“He was my first manager, and he was the one who believed in me and gave me the chance to debut at 17 years old. It’s funny to see him now with Liverpool, because he’s such a natural guy in front of the media,” Gotze told the Players Tribune.
“He’s so authentic and he says whatever he wants. But I think most people just see the version of him standing on the touchline. There’s a very serious side as well. When I was 17 or 18, and not giving 100% in training, he would be so intimidating. He used to come running over and get right up in my face and start shouting at me.”
The Germany international added: “He knew how to handle me. He was an outstanding coach, but his personality was the most important thing for me as a young player.”
OPINION
It is interesting to hear how much of an impact that Klopp had on the career of Gotze, who he managed to get to develop from a 17-year-old in the Borussia Dortmund youth set up, to a player who has gone onto to win multiple Bundesliga titles and even scored the winning goal in the 2014 FIFA World Cup final. Gotze’s comments highlight just how impressive Klopp’s managerial instincts are, with the German having the ability to both coach players exceptionally well to get them to be able to deliver his intense style of play, and to have the man management skills to keep his players buying into his ideals. Klopp’s impact at Anfield has been similar to his impact on Gotze, with Liverpool’s players transformed into a side who can compete for major domestic and European trophies. Despite not winning a trophy so far at Anfield Klopp has managed to improve nearly all of his players, while his recruitment has been excellent in recent transfer windows and allowed the Reds to go to another level. The German will be hoping to finally secure his first Liverpool trophy in the Champions League final against Tottenham in Madrid.
