MAUL OR NOTHING

How rugby’s fearsome All Blacks helped Klopp develop a team to conquer the football world

JURGEN KLOPP has revealed the relentless mantra he stole from the All Blacks and used to conquer the football world.

The Liverpool manager takes his champions to the Etihad tonight looking to turn a title -winning season into a recordbreaking one.

And he insisted there will be no let-up because of the philosophy he took from rugby’s most famous and successful team when he started out as a manager in Germany with lowly Mainz.

“As long as you wear this shirt, less than 100 per cent isn’t allowed,” said Klopp. “It’s not my phrase, it came from the All Blacks.

“It was in 2001 or 2002, I think it was my first pre-season. I saw that in a documentary for the All Blacks and I kept that always for myself. I was completely impressed by these big fellas, these pretty impressive guys, they spoke about their past and what it meant to them to play for this team.

“At that time, the All Blacks were by far the best in the world. They had a winning percentage of something over 70 per cent and it was a really impressive thing.”

Klopp says his team are nothing even now without that same intensity. He explained how he took on the lessons from the documentary about a unified team mentality and applied it to football, eventually winning promotion to the Bundesliga with Mainz.

“The All Blacks were all amateurs,” said Klopp. “They worked as butchers, as builders. They were the All Blacks, Mainz – their main colour is red – so we made ourselves the All Reds.

Nobody noticed that because we were a small team but, for us, it was big.

“The last two minutes before the team bus arrived at the stadium we always listened to the haka and when the door opened I don’t know if people thought a bunch of boys would come out of the bus because it was pretty loud and impressive and it gave us a kick.

“That’s how it started for that team. It’s the same for each LFC player now and for me. That’s what we try to live.”

Klopp promised that even though Liverpool have clinched the title, they will retain that All Black intensity against City.

He added: “Next season, we will not defend anything, we will attack. I know that when you feel you’ve reached your pinnacle, you’re already on the way down, and honestly I don’t feel that with Liverpool.

“I don’t feel finally satisfied. That is why this will be a proper football game, 100 per cent”