Liverpool’s League Cup final win against Chelsea was managed by Jurgen Klopp. The German had learned that he could achieve victory even with children, hence he described this trophy as the most special trophy of his career. Virgil van Dijk sealed a 1-0 win for Liverpool at Wembley on Sunday with a dramatic header two minutes from time.
The Reds boss initially started the game with 20-year-old Connor Bradley and Harvey Elliott before bringing on Bobby Clarke (19), James McConnell (19), Jaden Dannes (18), and Jerrel Kwansa (21) from the bench.
Klopp Ranks Liverpool’s League Cup Glory As His ‘Most Special’ Trophy
Klopp had to lose Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez, Alisson Becker, and Joel Matip because they were struggling with injuries. Ryan Gravenberch had to be ruled out in the first half. Despite all these difficult circumstances, Liverpool won the seventh major trophy of their nine-year reign. This will rank as his most memorable trophy.
He said that it has been won easily by him for more than 20 years, it is the most special trophy. This was absolutely extraordinary for him. Sometimes people ask him if he is proud of these things but it is actually very difficult. He wishes he could feel proud more often but winning this trophy today is a tremendous feeling. Even the people who won were here, he was proud of them all. He was proud of every academy, he was proud of his coaches, he was proud of many other things that helped him win this trophy. This moment was completely overwhelming for him.
Alan Hansen, the former Liverpool defender who famously criticized Alex Ferguson’s decision to administer blood to a number of Manchester United youngsters including David Beckham, Paul Scholes, and Gary Neville, said that if you play with children, You can’t win anything. This United kid went on to dominate the Premier League so there was a twist in that sentence that came back to bite Hansen. Even after Sunday’s win, Klopp had never heard Hansen’s quote.
He was said to have been told that there is an English proverb that says you can’t win trophies with children. But he never knew this. He likes this and asks the question, can you create stories in football that have never happened before? It is very difficult. It’s incredible that you can find a story about a group of academy kids playing against a top team like Chelsea and winning.
