"He really changed football..." - Liverpool boss Klopp names the two managers that have influenced him most

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has revealed which two coaches have had the most influence on his football philosophy.

Klopp is viewed as one of the greatest managers of his generation, having overperformed at three successive clubs.

After moving into management at German side Mainz, he helped transform the fortunes of the struggling club – first leading them to promotion to the Bundesliga before guiding them to European football.

He later joined Borussia Dortmund and would win back-to-back Bundesliga titles in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons before leading his team to the 2013 Champions League final, where they were narrowly beaten by bitter rivals Bayern Munich.

Klopp was appointed Liverpool manager in 2015 and has since enjoyed huge success on Merseyside, winning the Premier League, Champions League, Club World Cup, FA Cup and League Cup with the Reds.

After coming agonisingly close to an unprecedented quadruple last season, Klopp's side have struggled in the current campaign and head into Saturday's Premier League against title chasers Manchester City seven points adrift of the Champions League places.

Klopp names his two biggest influences in football

Speaking to BT Sport ahead of the match, Klopp has revealed which two coaches had the biggest influence on his football philosophy – naming Dutch legend Johan Cruyff, who championed 'Total Football', and Italian icon Arrigo Sacchi, whose AC Milan side of the late 80s is viewed as one of the greatest teams in history.

"Johan Cruyff you have to mention as one of the most influential people in football history," said Klopp.

"Since I started thinking in football he was an outstanding player and coach and he developed a style of football.

"And the other one for me is Arrigo Sacchi because he inspired my best coaches. I spoke to Sacchi once on the phone. I can't speak Italian and he can't speak German but we had someone to translate.

"He really changed football in a really good way so that we can now organise football teams much better than our previous coaches were able to."

Klopp has gained many admirers in football but insists he is not someone to look up to, despite his achievements in football.

"I'm not a role model, I can't be," he said.

"I can only play one role and it's mine. I'm always 100 per cent myself and that’s good in one way and it's obviously not good in other ways."

Klopp added: "My success is because of determination to do what I do. Luck is really helpful - without it we are all screwed. And having the right people around; I don't believe in individual success in football and I don't need it. I always love to share the experience.

"Success for all people is different. Nothing is worse than when you are used to being successful, because you have to accept that it will not work out all the time. If you can accept that then you can have a pretty good life.

"As long as you are healthy, you can go again."