What Jurgen Klopp has said about Antonio Conte as Spurs job announced

Jurgen Klopp will face a familiar foe when Liverpool visit Tottenham next month, with Antonio Conte appointed new manager of the north London club on Tuesday.

Spurs announced the departure of Nuno Espirito Santo earlier this week after just four months with the club, having lost seven of his 17 games in charge.

It was a farcical situation for Tottenham, after a long search for a replacement for Jose Mourinho over the summer, and now they have landed on their first choice.

Conte was confirmed as new Spurs manager just before midday on Tuesday – not before a deleted tweet from the club’s official Twitter account heralded his arrival in Spanish, rather than Italian.

The 52-year-old returns to the Premier League after three years away, having been relieved of his duties at Chelsea at the end of the 2017/18 campaign.

It will be a busy start for Conte at Tottenham, and next month will bring a clash with Liverpool at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that will reunite him with Klopp.

Klopp and Conte have faced off on four occasions, with a win apiece along with two draws, their most recent meeting being Chelsea‘s 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge in 2018.

Back in 2016, soon after the Italian’s arrival at Chelsea, Klopp described Conte as “the Pep Guardiola of Turin.”

That owed to his successful spell in charge of Juventus, which saw him win three consecutive Serie A titles along with the Supercoppa Italiana twice.

“The most important thing is he’s a great manager, a very successful manager,” Klopp told reporters.

“The Pep Guardiola of Turin – he created their special kind of play. Very successful with the Italian national team [too].”

Klopp’s praise came ahead of their first competitive meeting – a 2-1 away win for Liverpool – and Conte was similarly positive about his counterpart.

“Jurgen Klopp is a good manager, one of the best in the world,” he said. “He’s showing his capacity to be a great manager.”

Since then, Klopp has gone on to win the Premier League, Champions League, Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup with Liverpool, while Conte won the Premier League and FA Cup with Chelsea along with the Serie A title at Inter Milan.

Their meeting in north London on December 19 promises to be a significant one, with Spurs likely to enjoy a bounce under their new manager in the weeks to come.