Marbella (AP) – Hansi Flick praised his German colleague Jürgen Klopp from FC Liverpool before the Champions League final against Real Madrid in the highest tones.
“What Jürgen Klopp has achieved in recent years is fantastic,” said the 57-year-old national coach at the national soccer team’s training camp in Marbella about Klopp, who was three years his junior.
The former Bundesliga coach could win the Champions League for the second time this Saturday in the final in Paris against Spain’s record champions and thus continue the current successful streak of German coaches in Europe’s most important club competition. In 2019, Klopp triumphed in the premier class with Liverpool. In 2020, Flick won the title with FC Bayern Munich. And last year, Thomas Tuchel was successful with Chelsea in the Champions League.
“We are happy that we have such good coaches in Germany,” said Flick in Spain. The DFB head coach explains that the German coaches are so successful and set the tone, especially in Europe’s top competition, with the “super coach education” in Germany.
Klopp just missed winning the English championship again with Liverpool last Sunday. Manchester City, with national player Ilkay Gündogan scoring twice, secured the Premier League title in an exciting long-distance duel on the last day of the game. Flick still doesn’t see Klopp as a loser: “His team is playing great football. He had caught up so many points. In January you thought the championship had been awarded to Manchester City.” In the end, Liverpool finished second, a point behind Man City with coach Pep Guardiola.