Having usually been picky about timing while in charge of Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp has been late to his last three press conferences.
The German joked about the fact at his pre-Aston Villa media briefing last week when he declared upon his arrival: “To be honest, who has… ”
But when that delay happened again on the Friday before his final game, those in attendance were more than happy to apologize as it was the result of a thoughtful gift to a local press conference.
Namely, Klopp was checking whether the bottles of champagne he wanted to present to the journalists who followed his eight and a half years in charge had been brought into the press conference room.
Once that delay was overcome, the 56-year-old – unsurprisingly – spared the usual questions about team news or anything related to this weekend’s clash with Wolves.
Instead, he launched into an emotional recap of his time at Anfield, including his favorite goal, save, assist – and even the last goal!
For them he picked Alisson’s header against West Brom, Trent’s quick corner against Barcelona, Alisson’s save against Napoli and Sadio Mane’s goal at Bayern.
He also spoke of his love for Scousers and the honor of being awarded the Freedom of the City of Liverpool in 2022.
“I met the best people I’ve ever met,” he said. “And I did it for the best club, in a wonderful, very, very, very special city.
“Nothing is perfect today, but most people in this city are, for me, as close as you can get, because the way they deal with life, the way they greet you, the way you treat yourself.
“And I don’t mean me, I mean all the people I know when they arrive in the city, what they tell me describes the people of Liverpool. And it’s great to know that I’ve spent a large part of my life here.”
It was a press conference punctuated by both his trademark humor and his knack for finding the right words to sum up what will be an emotional farewell.
Klopp’s final press conference
Private conversation with journalists
The fact is that it has been a pleasure to see the real Klopp back in recent weeks, even if that is due to the pressure in the title race raised by poor form.
These last few interactions with the local press offered a reminder that this club is not only losing a great manager but also a force of nature and a wonderful man.
It is a pleasure to create something in memory of a truly unique man?? Make that statue pic.twitter.com/RfUsPGuwJ6
— Marcus Banks (@MarcusBanksX) May 17, 2024
And that was further underlined by the kind words he addressed to journalists in a private conversation after the press conference came to an end and the cameras stopped working.
The only small token of appreciation we could offer Klopp for his memorable quotes, openness, exciting games over the years was a collage of his best moments and a small donation to a charity of his choice.
Both were, of course, received with sincere gratitude.
But as Klopp left the press room for the last time, it was hard not to shake the feeling that, while Liverpool may have an equally successful manager in the near future, they are unlikely to have such a great man at the helm of the club.
