The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
‘Catastrophe’ warning by Klopp
Liverpool manager hits out at impact of Africa Cup of Nations move
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp sees the decision to move the Africa Cup of Nations back to its traditional January slot as a “catastrophe” for the club.
The tournament was scheduled to be hosted by Cameroon in the summer of next year, which already clashed with the expanded Club World Cup – of which the Reds are currently champions – but has been switched because of concerns over the climate in the country in July.
That is likely to mean Klopp will be without Senegal’s Sadio Mane, Egypt’s Mohamed Salah and Guinea’s Naby Keita for up to six weeks.
“The African Cup of Nations going back to January is, for us, a catastrophe,” said the Liverpool manager, who says the decision will affect the club’s transfer policy.
“We will not sell Sadio, Mo or Naby now because they have a tournament in January and February, of course not.
“But if you have to make a decision about bringing in a player, it is a massive one because before the season you know for four weeks you don’t have them.”
Klopp has been a long-time, outspoken critic of a bloated and often chaotic fixture schedule which has what he feels are unnecessary clashes at international and domestic level.
Over the last month the Liverpool manager has been vocal in his opposition to the festive calendar, twolegged Carabao Cup semi-finals and FA Cup replays, in addition to the clash between the Club World Cup in Qatar and Carabao Cup quarter-final which forced the Reds to field a youth team in the defeat at Aston Villa.
However, he still expects his comments to fall on deaf ears.
“As long as nothing changes I will say it all the time. It is because it is about the players, not one second about me.
“There are so many things to sort but all these guys never find time to sit around one table and make a general schedule,” he said.
“All these different games to play and no break for the players. Let’s respect that, but if you have that break don’t make a replay in this break.”
Klopp also believes the proliferation of fixtures contributed to the hamstring injury suffered by Tottenham and England striker Harry Kane, which could rule him out of Euro 2020.
The national team captain underwent surgery on a ruptured tendon last weekend and the Reds boss hopes that may be the wake-up call the English authorities need.
“I feel massively for Harry Kane. I now hear he may not be in the Euros,” said the Liverpool manager.
“For the first time some English people in the FA may think ‘Oh, too many games maybe’. Something has to happen for them to really start thinking about it.”
Klopp’s runaway Premier League leaders host Manchester United tomorrow, a match which will see the return of long-term injury absentees Fabinho and Joel Matip.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has dismissed Klopp’s criticism of Manchester United’s playing style and predicted his young side will rise to the challenge of frustrating the Premier League leaders.
Klopp accused United of negative tactics after the 1-1 draw at Old Trafford in October and Solskjaer said he would take his rival’s evident displeasure as a positive sign.
Solskjaer said: “I take it as a compliment that we defended so well and they’ve not really created chances against us.
“When the opposition manager is frustrated, that is a good sign for you that our boys have done well.
“We’ve played them at Old Trafford twice and been closest to winning both games. So we’ve got some games to look back on that will give us some belief.”
Solskjaer will give Marcus Rashford the maximum possible opportunity to recover from the back injury he aggravated against Wolves in midweek, but the striker is unlikely to feature.
The Norwegian insisted his young squad would be up for the challenge of becoming the first team to beat Klopp’s men in the league this season, amid renewed fears of safety issues surrounding the fixture.
Solskjaer added: “(I have) no safety fears. Of course they want to try to intimidate us as long as it’s within the boundaries.
“I’ve been sat on a coach going to Anfield and whatever they shout and scream at you, you don’t really notice.
“You’ve got to look forward to these games. It’s a great challenge for our players to play against the league leaders. It can be an intimidating place but I’m sure it will be fine.”