Published 11:57 IST, November 12th 2019
Jurgen Klopp to put no extra pressure on Liverpool for Club World Cup
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp feels that there is no pressure on him or his team before they travel to Qatar to participate in FIFA Club World Cup in December.
- SportFit
- 3 min read
European champions Liverpool are set to play in the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup to be held in Qatar. However, Jurgen Klopp, while speaking to British media outlets, has stated that he feels no extra pressure to win the tournament. But he still expects the level of competition to be extremely intense in Qatar amidst a string of fixtures across all competitions.
Liverpool will play the Club World Cup semi-finals on December 18, 2019 against the winner of the second round. The German feels that Liverpool will have to battle hard against unfamiliar opponents. Klopp still has the chance to turn an unforgettable year, courtesy of the club's UEFA Champions League win, into a historic one.
When asked about the pressure on the team, Klopp insisted that so far, he does not feel any pressure. He rather sees it as an absolute opportunity as they don’t often have the chance to play for the Club World Cup. As a result, with the team already on their way of achieving glory courtesy their excellent run in the Premier League, Klopp felt that it would be wrong of him to burden his players with more expectations.
He went on to inform that they that knew it would feel great when they won the Champions League, but then they had no real clue as to how it would be around the European Super Cup. So, they played it and it felt really great and really big. When they go there, they will be prepared and looking forward to it. The boys want to play it, so it will be very interesting and it will feel big for them.
Klopp does not believe in being the first to win titles
Liverpool have never won a Club World Cup. When quizzed about the same, Klopp stated that he is not someone who has to be the first on the moon or the first to win the World Cup with Liverpool, but when they are there, then they will try to do so with all they have. The very interesting and difficult part as well is that they will be playing against teams from other continents, which doesn’t happen that often – maybe a Mexican team, maybe a Brazilian team – and it will be a tough one for sure. He went on to say that they will prepare for it as they would usually, and they will see if it’s right or wrong against the team from another continent. They don’t have too much information yet, but they will by then for sure, making it interesting and difficult as well for the European champions.
Updated 14:18 IST, November 12th 2019