Former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch has urged Liverpool to ‘build a statue’ of Reds manager Jurgen Klopp if the team defend their Champions League trophy.
The European champions topped their Champions League group with Tuesday’s 2-0 victory over Red Bull Salzburg, and Crouch feels winning the tournament back-to-back would put the German in line with the Anfield greats.
“Klopp was every bit the lively and engaging figure you see on your screens and the way he has taken Liverpool forward over the last four years is remarkable,” he wrote in his Daily Mail column. “He clearly loves life at the club, as he extended his contract on Friday until 2024.
“If they were to defend the Champions League — and if they go on to win the Premier League — they should build a statue of Klopp, never mind a new training ground. To achieve something like that in the modern era would be incredible. It would put him on par with any of the club’s greats.”
OPINION
Crouch is certainly correct that winning the Champions League once again, especially if it came in concert with a long-awaited Premier League triumph, would write Klopp into Liverpool legend. He is already arguably in the pantheon of Reds greats, but back-to-back Champions League victories would certainly place him in the Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley stratosphere. The big thing for him, though, surely has to finally be securing another league title for one of the most successful teams in English football history. The wait has been far too long now, so ending that drought should be the priority for the Liverpool boss. It’s looking good for him so far, of course, but there remains a very long way to go. There is plenty of top opposition in the way of the European champions securing another Champions League triumph, though, with the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich looking particularly good in the competition so far.
