Former Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp has already named the ‘best’ player he has ever managed – and it’s not Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold or Virgil van Dijk.
Klopp, 57, has had the pleasure of coaching some of the best players of the past two decades during his time at Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool.
He won every trophy available during his tenure at the 19-time Premier League champions and pushed Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City team to their limit in an iconic rivalry.
So, you may be expecting a Liverpool player to be the ‘best’ he ever coached considering his success on Merseyside, but this was not the case when he spoke to German outlet BILD in 2021.
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“It actually won’t be fair to say that about any other player except Lewy [Robert Lewandowski],” said Klopp.
“What he has made out of his potential, how he pushed himself to become the player he is today, that’s extraordinary.
“If every player has a development similar to Lewandowski, when I first saw him at Lech Poznan, then the football world would be completely crazy.
“All players would win all their duels, the full-backs would complete all their crosses, the midfielders would be strong in one-against-ones, the wingers would tackle and play precise long balls.”
Klopp worked with the Poland international at Dortmund between 2010 and 2014 before the forward signed for Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich, where he worked with Guardiola.
He has since become one the best forwards in world football having scored over 600 goals in 812 club appearances and currently plays for Barcelona.
It must be considered that Klopp’s comments were made over four years ago, so he could’ve changed his mind since.
Lewandowski, 36, has previously been open about his admiration for his former bosses Guardiola and Klopp.
“[Klopp] has two faces,” Lewandowski told ESPN in 2020. “You can see that he is kind of like a father, but the second part is like a coach, a manager. He can tell you everything.”
"His performance as a coach is amazing,” he added. “But not only as a coach but also as a man."
Topics: Jurgen Klopp, Robert Lewandowski, Borussia Dortmund, Football, Premier League, Bundesliga
Luke Davies