Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists he hasn’t wasted a minute at the club and is “absolutely fine” with the amount of silverware he has won.
Klopp will be at Anfield on Sunday eight-and-a-half years after winning eight silverware, including a Premier League title after a 30-year wait and the club’s sixth Champions League success.
His critics will say he hasn’t maximized the talents of a squad peaking between 2018 and 2020 and the Reds boss accepts they are right to hold that view.
‘We could have won more – or less’
But he sees things differently, saying: “I really think it was the absolute opposite of a waste of time.
“We used absolutely everything and tried to make the best of everything and tried to enjoy it as much as possible.
“For me, that’s perfectly fine (the success he’s had). I know we could have won more, but I can’t change that. We could have won less, and that is possible.
“Not becoming champions by a point (when they finished second in 2018 with 97 points) is not a great experience, but it is an experience that shows you that you are really good.
“That, obviously, will not be in the history books. And there will be almost no victory, that’s life.
“When you’re in it, you can’t see it like that. I couldn’t have done anything different in these moments.”
Just over a month ago, Liverpool were competing for an unprecedented top four, winning the Carabao Cup in February, but they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United and out of the Europa League by Atalanta before two weeks in April saw them lift the Premier League title. .
With third place and a return to the Champions League assured, there’s nothing since his last game at home to Wolves, so the past week has been something of a farewell, attending various events to say goodbye to people he’s worked with or been associated with during his time stay at Anfield.
And his stay had lasting effects on him, but not necessarily from a football point of view.
Klop “totally calm”
“A decade in your life is huge and I won’t forget a single day of that time because I met the best people I’ve ever met and I did it for the best club I could ever imagine,” he added.
“I carry memories with me, fantastic memories. I carry friendships with me, relationships with me – forever.
“You realize you’re getting older when time slips through your fingers, you look back and you think, ‘God, that was fast.’ I don’t think it was fast, nine years.
“I said before, I wouldn’t be happy if I thought I could have done more. I could not.
“Could I have done better? Me? No. Could someone else have done it better? Probably. It is possible. But me in that situation, no, and that’s why I agree with it.
“The rest will be for people to judge and I’m pretty sure more of them are fine with what we’ve done and some think it’s not enough and that’s fine with both if they think so.
“Nothing is perfect today, but the maturity of the people in this town is as close as possible because of who they are, the way they deal with life, the way they greet you and the way they treat you.
“And I don’t mean me, I mean all the people I know who come to this city. What they tell me describes the people of Liverpool and that’s great to know.
“I am completely calm. It is wonderful to know that I have spent a large part of my life here. I’ve been given the key to the city (he was awarded the freedom of Liverpool in 2022) and I know that’s probably pretty funny to a lot of people, but it feels like a responsibility to me.
“I don’t assume that the club will need my help in the future, but if the city needs me, I’m here.” I want to help in any way I can and we’ll see how that goes.”
