Klopp stays grounded after rout
Coach not dreaming of Champions League title after Man City victory
JURGEN Klopp admits the clock is ticking on his target of winning a trophy within the first four years of his Liverpool tenure but after eliminating Manchester City he says he dare not dream that it will be the Champions League.
The 50-year-old German refuses to contemplate a sixth European crown for the historic club even after they beat the runaway Premier League leaders 5-1 on aggregate in the quarterfinal to reach their first Champions League semifinal for a decade.
In his first season, Klopp guided Liverpool to the 2016 Europa League final where they lost to Sevilla but he is now contemplating a leap upwards in terms of quality of opposition.
“I said [at his unveiling as Liverpool manager] if I sit here in four years probably we won something, otherwise it’s not possible,” Klopp said after the 2-1 second-leg victory over Pep Guardiola’s team on Tuesday.
“It’s now 2½ years and I still haven’t won anything so time is running.”
Klopp, who guided Borussia Dortmund to the 2013 Champions League final where they lost to bitter German rivals Bayern Munich, said it was far too early to claim Liverpool could be the equals of European giants Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. Bayern and Real are potential semifinal opponents should they come through their quarterfinals unscathed.
And a huge obstacle to all the teams’ chances of lifting the trophy was removed on Tuesday with AS Roma’s miraculous dismantling of Barcelona.
“I have absolutely no interest in comparing us. Barca, Bayern, Real Madrid they win everything in the past 20 years,” Klopp said.
Liverpool do, of course, have a rich Champions League history, most recently with the miraculous comeback in the 2005 final against AC Milan in Istanbul, although the Italians got their revenge in the final two years later.
Klopp said his side were still a work in progress.
A big step in that direction has come with his gamble to outlay a world record fee for a defender to acquire Virgil van Dijk.
“We can only develop,” Klopp said. “This competition is unbelievably strong.
“I don’t care who is in [the draw], we are there and we deserved it and so far we fought for each opportunity to get it and then used it.
“That’s what we will do [in the semis] but the other sides are not without their ambitions.”