Ahead of his reunion with David Wagner at Huddersfield Town on Wednesday night, Jürgen Klopp dug into his own archives to find a photo that shows just how far the friends go back.
The pair were teammates at Mainz in the early 1990s, later colleagues in management at Borussia Dortmund and, most recently, made the move to English football within weeks of each other last year.
Now they are preparing to pit their wits against one another as the Reds travel to Huddersfield tomorrow for the fourth friendly of their pre-season campaign so far.
A dose of nostalgia is understandable and as Klopp previewed the game with Liverpoolfc.com, he started by sharing a memorable snap of the two men in mutual celebration.
“David Wagner is one of my best friends, maybe my best friend,” the boss explains.
“We played a few years together and we didn’t only play, we celebrated a few times!
“This is David [points to picture]. If you see him today you cannot believe that’s him and that’s me! I have a cigar in my hand but that was after the game.
“When I was in Munich I remember playing against 1860 and it was a draw and it was one of my best games for Mainz. Afterwards we went to the Oktoberfest, so it was a good night!”
Wagner took the reins at the John Smith’s Stadium less than a month after Klopp had been officially confirmed as Liverpool manager, in October 2015.
During the ongoing talks with their respective new clubs, neither man had told the other of his potential appointment – making for an interesting catch-up when they next met.
Klopp said: “In this business, with your best friends you have to keep a few secrets.
“He didn’t know I went to the USA to speak with our owners and I actually had no idea that he was in talks with another English club.
“When I came back from the USA, I opened the door and first of all I saw his car sitting in front of my house and I thought ‘What’s he doing here?’ When I came in my wife said ‘Let him tell first!’
“I said ‘You first.’ He said he had spoken to a Championship club in England. I said ‘Interesting, which club?’ He said Huddersfield and I thought ‘OK, close to Liverpool.’
“I said I had come back from talks with Liverpool! So that’s how it was and a completely strange situation for both of us.
“We are pretty close to each other and it’s good. He’s a really good friend but more importantly for Huddersfield he is a brilliant manager. So a win-win situation!
http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/228168-boss-digs-out-classic-snap-ahead-of-wagner-reunion