Jurgen Klopp admitted that his Liverpool stars paid more attention to champion NBA coach Steve Kerr than him.
The Golden State Warriors coach, a nine-time NBA champion and player and coach, is a Liverpool fan and took the opportunity to visit their training ground last week.
And it proved to be such an instant hit that Klopp jokingly admitted that he was tempted to capture the moment on his phone.
Jurgen Klopp admits his Liverpool stars noticed Steve Kerr more than him
Klopp joked, ‘I made a picture, actually, when they talked to the players and I told the boys that if they looked that focused, when I talked to you it would be really cool.
‘He’s a great guy, he was here with his wife, a wonderful woman.
‘One of the greatest of sports, huh? Absolutely excellent, but it shows that you can be seen as a great in public but smart people are very grounded and it was a real pleasure to meet them.’
Mo Salah tweeted a photo shortly after the trip, which showed him, along with teammates Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk hanging on to Kerr’s every word.
For his part, Kerr claimed it was Startrack to finally meet Klopp, whom he has spoken about frequently in his own press conferences with Golden State.
Golden State Warriors head coach and nine-time NBA champion Steve Kerr traveled to England last week to visit Liverpool FC players and staff. Pictured: Mo Salah (far left), Trent Alexander-Arnold (second from left), and Virgil van Dijk (second from right) speaking with Steve Kerr (right)
Kerr’s wife Margot also tweeted a photo of her husband (centre) at the FC training ground in Liverpool last week. Coach Jurgen Klopp jokingly told his players that he wished they could concentrate when talking to Kerr when he spoke to him.
And with Kerr coming fresh from his fourth NBA crown in charge of the mighty Warriors, he found a kindred spirit in the Liverpool manager.
“We just had a great time,” Klopp said. ‘I told him what we’re doing here and obviously the training grounds look a little different in football and basketball but he liked what he saw here.
‘It’s a great place and we talked about how we deal with different things and all those things.
‘The one moment when I was really happy that I didn’t become a basketball coach was when he said he had to press every day. very nice! He would be a killer.
‘But he has a break of four months which is good. He promised me that he would speak about it publicly, but he hasn’t done so yet!’
Klopp describes Kerr’s journey ahead of his side’s game against Newcastle as ‘excellent’.
