Relief and an unexpected outburst of tears came Jurgen Klopp‘s way on the day he saw his side officially reach the summit of a long and arduous climb.
Even now, 45 days after it became official it can be hard to find words for the range of emotions which come with Liverpool being crowned Premier League champions.
It was a day 30 years in the making, one which saw seven different managers and countless players have their shot with a few near misses along the way.
The pressure and desire to end the run grew year by year, the holy grail seemingly always out of reach until one German walked through the doors at Anfield and changed everything.
“History is the base for us. It’s not allowed to take the history in the backpack,” Klopp said on his first day in the job having recognised the weight of expectation and the pressure of finally reuniting the club with the trophy everyone craved.
And while always eager to stress to his players and the fans that they should not let the weight of responsibility dictate present day, it was not until the trophy was finally Liverpool’s that Klopp realised he had unknowingly carried all the pressure on his shoulders.
The amount of tears shed led him to that realisation as a wave of relief washed over him when Chelsea toppled Man City and the entire Liverpool team and support staff watched on at Formby Hall, as seen in the club’s new documentary ‘Golden Sky: Klopp’s Champions’.
“Counting the minutes, it was just incredible and absolutely one of the best football moments I’ve ever had in my life with not being in a stadium,” Klopp said.
“Because we were there together you could see each face. Players were sitting there, some couldn’t really watch it and stuff like this. We were all like this and it was absolutely exceptional.
“You have no idea how it will feel before it happens. It was pure joy! Massive relief in the next second and then I started crying. So I went and called Ulla [his wife].
“I called my family 10 seconds before the end of the game so they watched it together. I said, ‘OK, I love you all’ and I put the phone down on the table. I said, ‘Leave your phone on so you can see what happens here!’
“Then I wanted to speak to Ulla and couldn’t. I had her on the phone but I just was crying. I didn’t know why it happened. I had no idea. I was proud of and I was worried about [it], but I couldn’t stop. I have never in my life had a situation when I just couldn’t stop crying.
“I didn’t know exactly why, so I just went for a few minutes in my room because I didn’t want to show everybody when I was stood around there and couldn’t stop crying,” he continued.
“Then I realised step-by-step and step-by-step obviously there was some pressure! Which I don’t really feel when I’m in the situation but being manager of this club is a big honour – I see it as pure luck – but it was some responsibility, let me say it like this.
“And obviously that fell off my shoulders in that moment and that must have been the reason for it. It was very strange, very good, very emotional, [a] very special moment in my life.”
Very special, indeed. Thank you, Jurgen.
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