Former Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana has revealed how he “Googled” Jurgen Klopp after he was announced as Liverpool’s new manager in 2015.
Lallana, who had a difficult first season at Liverpool under Brendan Rodgers, would go on to become a key member of Klopp’s squad in his first few years at the club.
The ex-England midfielder, now of Brighton, embraced Klopp’s high energy style of football, but has now admitted he was initially unaware of the German’s preferred philosophy on the pitch.
In an interview with The Anfield Wrap, as part of their five-part ‘JURGEN’ series, Lallana says he was pleased to find out that Klopp used ‘Gegenpressing’, despite initially being unaware of what it was!
“I remember being on international duty and him getting announced,” he said.
“I remember typing his name into Google and seeing what type of football he liked. Because obviously, I had a tough first year and I was looking to kick on in my Liverpool career.
“I remember it saying ‘he likes Gegenpressing,’ and I was like ‘what’s Gegenpressing?’. You look at it and it was almost like a form of counter-pressing and running, and I thought: ‘Cor, that’s the type of football I like playing’.”
One of Lallana’s most iconic moments together with Klopp came when he scored a 95th-minute winning goal in a 5-4 victory over Norwich City in January 2016.
After wheeling away as the ball hit the back of the net, the midfielder ran towards the Liverpool bench, only to realise Klopp was already on his way down the touchline, with the Liverpool manager breaking his glasses during the celebrations.
“I think already by that point I had a good connection with Jurgen,” Lallana continued.
“I’d been to see him a couple of times because I still felt like I wasn’t performing as well as I could’ve done. He kind of just told me to relax, goals will come, better performances will come.
“It was obviously a crazy game and the last kick of the game, and I remember just wheeling away and I actually couldn’t believe he was halfway on the pitch running towards us anyway. It’s an iconic moment I’ll look back at, I’m sure he will as well.
“Again, just building rapport, connection, emotional football, which is what he wants. He thrives off and wants his team to play with emotion. There’s no better way than setting the example as a manager which is what he did day in, day out.”
The second episode of The Anfield Wrap’s ‘JURGEN’ series is available here here.
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