Perfect time for Karius to prove class
IT IS not unusual for a Liverpool goalkeeper to experience hard times before achieving European Cup glory. Ray Clemence took 1977 FA Cup final defeat by Manchester United so badly that he led an impromptu drinking session on the train back to Lime Street. Four days later Liverpool won their first European Cup in Rome.
Bruce Grobbelaar — a winner in 1984 — was once almost laughed out of Anfield while, 21 years on, the Pole Jerzy Dudek played a hero’s part in Istanbul knowing that he would not be at Anfield long-term.
So goalkeepers are already entwined through the heart of the Liverpool European story and to that list we can now add the name of Loris Karius. Few have had it tougher in their early days than the 24-year-old German.
A year ago nobody could have imagined that Karius would be in Kiev as Jurgen Klopp’s No 1. To say Karius’s first season at Anfield was mixed would be untrue. It wasn’t even that good.
Poor form and an exchange of words with Sky pundit Gary Neville in the pages of Sportsmail left Karius looking washed up by the time the 2016-17 season ended with Simon Mignolet back in goal.
Karius looked like a football rarity — a Klopp gamble that had not worked. Only an end-of-campaign chat with his manager reassured him better times may lie ahead.
‘He explained his perspective,’ recalled Karius. ‘I felt his trust.’
Anfield sources this week insisted that conversation with Klopp was not as dramatic as it looks in print. ‘There was never an Any Given
Sunday moment,’ said the source, with reference to Al Pacino’s defining speech as an American football coach in the 1999 film.
‘Jurgen’s approach is to normalise these things and not allow them to grow too big. It was always just about the football. Loris took his cue from that.’
In itself, that provides insight in to Klopp’s methods. After Karius’s spat with Neville in December 2016, it would have been tempting at some Premier League clubs to question how and why it had happened. Kiev test: Karius must be flawless At Liverpool it was different. Klopp never raised an eyebrow, buying also into Karius’s own theory that a hand broken in pre- season had contributed to his problems on the field.
‘Players here are adults and are treated as such,’ added the source. ‘Loris made some mistakes and was taken out of the team for that reason only. When Jurgen thought he was ready he brought him back.’
Karius certainly looks a better fit. An instinctive goalkeeper who does not study opponents before games, he is still obsessive about diet and what he does away from training.
He has benefited from long sessions with goalkeeping coach John Achterberg. Karius also joins in five-a-side games as an outfield player, something that may explain his impressive distribution.
One of Neville’s early criticisms was that Karius transmitted anxiety to his defenders. Now the opposite appears true. Karius still looks to have an error in him but his confidence is clear. In 21 games he has played since his return he has kept 11 clean sheets.
Before tonight’s test at the Olympic Stadium, questions marks do remain. Clemence, who conceded just one goal in winning three European Cup finals, said recently: ‘The number of mistakes he makes can cost the team.’
Karius will know of the comments but is unlikely to worry. Self-confidence rarely seems to be an issue.
A little lucky to escape after an error in each leg of Liverpool’s semifinal win over Roma, Karius will in all likelihood have to be flawless tonight — and he is not alone.
But others have risen to the challenge in the past and if he feels he still has something to prove, now is the perfect opportunity.