And then I realise I have immediately fallen into the same trap many seem to do when assessing our lovable German manager. He's funny, quirky, zany, weird, crazy, etc. So many articles on him focus on him being a motivator and, based on the pictures, quotes and examples used, you would assume he is motivational in the way a clown at a child's birthday party keeps their attention. Or in the way Kevin Hart can hold a room. Sometimes I am waiting for his Joe Pesci in Goodfellas moment in a press conference. "Funny How?"
But it is pretty easy to underestimate the man. The focus always seems to be more on his personality than his intelligence. The funny gifs and sound bites over his achievements. But despite only managing teams who are the financial underdogs, he has a record to rival anybody against the best managers around with squads who cost a fraction to put together compared to that of his opponents. Something that happens as a by product of having a well drilled team that can take advantage of any tactical weaknesses in the opposition. But the most important tool he has is intensity. Look at that gif of him again and you see all the intensity his team shows on the pitch. Again, like Joe Pesci in Goodfellas.
When Rafa Benitez was asked his thoughts on the game recently he said "Real Madrid have experience and quality." Liverpool, on the other hand, play with a lot of intensity, quality, pace... The pace of the Premier League is far superior to that of other leagues". And for me, this is where the battle will be won on the night.
You see teams like Real Madrid have an intensity level that is normal for them in terms of what they deal with week to week, season to season. Premier League teams are higher than that, but you can adjust for one of games somewhat. If you control the game, impose your will, you don't let that intensity be a problem. Indeed, when they face Spurs at Wembley containing a midfield of Winks and Moussa Sissoko, they ran riot on Real Madrid that night forcing them to play at an intensity they were uncomfortable with.
Then there is Klopp intensity. It's unlike anything some players have played against. Klopp wants the game played at a pace that is unbearably high for most footballers not used to it. It is why our goals come in clusters. Because while a side can impose their will on 75% of the game, we will get a our 25% and make it their worst 25 minutes of their season. A 25 minutes where they have so many decisions to make, at speeds they don't want to make them, one after another creating systemic failure. It is why in those periods, we don't just make teams look poor, we make people question whether they have ever played a professional game in their life, whether their manager even bothered to watch us play. Sure he did. But how do you coach a team to be ready for that? Everything we do as a club is driven to playing the game at our best in that environment. Which means when we take it there, everyone else is fucked.
Normally when the Red hurricane hits, it hasn't had time to build up strength beforehand. This has seen it sometimes lack intensity when it strikes. Or only be maintained for a short window of time. Or looks weak once it passes. This time though, it has been building up it's intensity in the hotter Mediterranean region for two full weeks. It is likely when the Red hurricane makes landfall in Ukraine, it will be the first time a team has needed to face it dialled all the way up to category 5 and, unlike what we saw against Roma, it should have enough in the tank to maintain it's intensity for the duration.
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Intro