Jurgen Klopp has finally explained his ‘intimidating’ pre-match ritual of stalking opponents.
Liverpool’s manager often sits in the stands before matches and watches his team’s opponents. It’s become an online meme, but Klopp is certainly making his presence felt.
Everton defender James Tarkowski recently revealed he was impressed by the 56-year-old’s attitude ahead of the game at Anfield.
He said on a Foxcast Ben Foster: “Because I always, always warm up to the middle of the line.“I love the end of training so I’m always up there and I can see (Klopp) smiling brightly at me from the sidelines.
“I’m thinking, ‘You’d better make sure the pass is good,’ otherwise I’ll go into the locker room and say, ‘Tarkovsky is having one of his warm-ups, he’s playing.’“I make sure every pass is sharp and I never pass.
If I give one, I think, “He’s going to come and say I got one there in the warm-up.”Foster faced Klopp’s Liverpool side on several occasions during his professional career.
He recently spoke to Klopp to find out what the players think of his actions. The former Wrexham player quoted Klopp as saying: “No, I don’t know, because I didn’t know that. “I do it to find something technical and tactical that I can get my hands on.”
Because sometimes we do warm-ups to find out exactly the shape and position of the team. “If you see the left or right wing going in or staying… you can assess that and talk to the players before you go.”We’re not trying to scare players.”
Liverpool are currently leading the Premier League after beating Newcastle 4-2.
They face Arsenal in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday afternoon.
