Andy Robertson has revealed what Jurgen Klopp told the Liverpool squad on the morning of the epic 4-0 triumph over Barcelona at Anfield in 2019.
The Reds had seemed all but out of the Champions League after losing the first leg of the semi-final 3-0 at Camp Nou six days previously, but they rallied to overturn that deficit on one of the most famous nights the iconic venue has ever seen.
It came just 24 hours after the hammer blow of Vincent Kompany’s winner for Manchester City against Leicester, which effectively killed off our hopes of winning the Premier League, but the legendary manager had the perfect rousing message for his players on that Tuesday morning.
Robertson on what Klopp told the Liverpool squad
In the latest episode of Stick to Football, Robertson recalled what Klopp told the players a few hours before the match against Barcelona, and what effect that had on the squad in the dressing room prior to kick-off.
The Scottish left-back recounted: “He said: ‘Tonight nobody gives us a chance. No normal person would give us a chance, but becaucse you’re sitting in front of me, I give you every chance in the world and I’m telling you this will be one of the most special nights of your life.’
“The changing room before the game was the loudest I’ve ever been in. [Everyone was] laser-focused; everyone was ready. It’s easy to talk about now because we won 4-0, but we felt something special could happen and we got off to the best possible start with the early goal… We made a really good team crumble, effectively.”
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The perfect motivational message from Klopp
That anecdote sums up what an exceptional motivator Klopp had been at Liverpool, and why his players would metaphorically jump through a brick wall for him.
The manager sensed how deflated the players were after Kompany’s freakish goal and delivered the perfect words to instil belief about the task at hand against Barcelona, who boasted a world-class attack featuring Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
The Reds have had many famous European nights over the years, and 7 May 2019 is right up there with the best of them. The wall of noise that Anfield became on the night was phenomenal, and the players duly fed off that energy from fans who had their backs.
Having lost the Champions League final the previous year and come up agonisingly short to Man City in the 2018/19 title race, winning the European Cup against Tottenham Hotspur changed the whole course of the Klopp era from ‘what could’ve been’ to what ultimately was.
That night against Barcelona was the catalyst for the greatest days that this generation of LFC fans has known, giving them memories to cherish for a lifetime in the way that their ancestors had with Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley and Kenny Dalglish in previous decades.