“There was no Rocky this time”: Jurgen Klopp reveals his pre-game Barcelona speech | OneFootball

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has opened up on the speech that he gave before his Liverpool side took on Barcelona at Anfield.

The Reds needed to score four goals and not concede to progress to the Champions League final. They did that, and Klopp has revealed what he said to his team before they took to the field.

Klopp stated that he mostly talked about tactics. The German added that he had a belief that his side could progress to the final as a result of their character, rather than their ability to play football.

“When we were preparing for the second leg, my team-talk was very straightforward. There was no Rocky this time,” Klopp said, as quoted by the club’s official website.

“Mostly, I talked about tactics. But I also told them the truth. I said, ‘We have to play without two of the best strikers in the world. The world outside is saying it is not possible. And let’s be honest, it’s probably impossible. But because it’s you? Because it’s you, we have a chance.’

“I really believed that. It wasn’t about their technical ability as footballers. It was about who they were as human beings and everything they had overcome in life. The only thing that I added was, ‘If we fail, then let’s fail in the most beautiful way.’”

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ANFIELD WATCH VERDICT

I would have loved to have been in the room when Klopp was addressing his side. It would have been spine-tingling to listen to going by what the German has briefly said in regards to that particular speech.

I love how he reminded the players that they had overcome adversity throughout their lives.

Andy Robertson was let go by Celtic when he was younger. Gini Wijnaldum played in a Newcastle United side that was relegated from the Premier League.

The same goes for Xherdan Shaqiri, as he played in a Stoke City team that was relegated from the Premier League. All the aforementioned names played for Liverpool on the night.

Klopp’s team on the night possessed players that had experienced adversity before and overcome it. They all managed to do that once again by beating the Spanish giants 4-0.