Klopp does respect Africa — ask Mane and Salah

FAR from disparaging African football, it is hard to imagine a European manager with more respect for the continent than Jurgen Klopp. In 2018, a day before an FA Cup third-round tie with Everton, he allowed Sadio Mane and Mo Salah to fly to Ghana to participate in the ceremony for African Footballer of the Year. So when he referred to the Africa Cup of Nations as a ‘little’ tournament earlier this week, he was being ironic. He meant it was the opposite of ‘little’. It takes his best players in the middle of the season and for a considerable length of time. Sadly, the reporter who angrily questioned him on this several days later did not get the smile behind the initial remark. It is one of the complications with press interviews conducted as conference calls rather than in person. In the room, the misunderstanding would have been swiftly rectified.