Jurgen Klopp takes a parting dig at Arsenal FC’s underhanded tactics, emphasizes the Liverpool way
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is taking no prisoners as he prepares to leave Anfield after nine memorable years at the helm, even taking a potshot at Arsenal. Having won it all along the way, the German has not just come good on his promise of winning the league but also heralded an era that will be looked back with fondness.
Klopp knows a thing or two about building winning teams. Liverpool for large parts of his reign were practically untouchable, breaking several records on the way. It will please fans that this success was built not by throwing cash at the problem or by using black magic.
Liverpool adopted a long term vision under the German and went about chasing glory the right way. Sure, we fell short several times but at no instant have we compromised the rules of the sport or tried to gain an unfair advantage. If anything, the Reds’ successes under Klopp were earned.
This is something Arsenal can take note of. Mikel Arteta talks big and has built a formidable side in North London. However, while they do play good football, the Gunners are not averse to seeking an unfair advantage or two.
This was observed recently in the North London Derby where defender Ben Davies tried to throw Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario off, going as far as to even try to unstrap his gloves. Arsenal won on the night and will now gpo into the final day hoping they can trump Manchester City to the title.
Speaking to The Redmen via Youtube, Klopp emphasized the need to let your football do the talking. He is not keen on gaining unfair advantages but rather win the lot the old fashioned way-through hard work on the field, something the great Liverpool teams of the past can attest to.
“We didn’t waste time, we didn’t invent new cheeky things for set pieces. Getting rid of gloves or whatever and these kind of things. We didn’t do that.
“We just tried to fight harder than other teams. It was an incredible time.”
While winning certainly takes you a long way in football, it is also important to note how you got there. Teams like Manchester City have the silverware to show their dominance but the 115 charges levied against them will always see them be denied the respect the success deserves.
All is fair in love and war and football is no different. Klopp has not just adhered to playing the beautiful game as it should be but also succeeded to showcase his ideals work. The fact that Arteta has precious little to show speaks volumes indeed. The Liverpool teams that contended under Klopp were some of the best to ever grace the sport in England and even with his tactics, Arteta and Co have a long way to go before replicating the same numbers.
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Arsenal have high hopes of replacing Liverpool as Manchester City’s closest rivals. They are doing a good job of it so far but unless they cross the finishing line first, everything underhanded will have been for naught. Could Liverpool have won more had they too adopted similar means over the last nine years? Perhaps. But then, the foundations of the club are built on doing things the right way and Klopp held true to them and succeeded within those rules. This does indeed mean more.
