Paths collide as Jan faces old inspiration

HUDDERSFIELD boss Jan Siewert will finally get to meet Jurgen Klopp tonight when his side takes on Liverpool at Anfield.

Klopp’s Reds will return to the top of the Premier League table with victory against the Terriers tonight and will then hope Manchester City slip up at Burnley on Sunday.

Siewert followed a similar path to Klopp into English football from Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund and revealed the Reds boss has been a huge influence on his career.

“I’ve never met him personally. Obviously I know him but we’ve never spoken,” said Siewert, who replaced Klopp’s best friend David Wagner at Town in January.

“Obviously Jurgen is a fantastic manager and one of the best in the world. Although I’ve never met him, he’s a great guy and everybody realises what he’s doing with Liverpool.

“Of course we had a look at what he did and the way he influenced the German way of playing and at Dortmund. It was for me a big part of my coaching career.”

Siewert and Wagner both had spells in charge of Dortmund’s reserve team, while Klopp led the club to two Bundesliga titles during his seven years as manager.

“When I went to Dortmund for the under-23 team I was working on my task, which was to develop players for the first team,” said Siewert when asked if he ever envisaged crossing swords with Klopp in the English top flight.

“Obviously I achieved my aim and developed myself, but at that stage when I came in I didn’t think of being part of the Premier League so quick. “For me it’s a big challenge and a big honour and it means I must have done something right in my past.

“He’s one of the best managers in the world and he’s proved it. The way he develops teams and brings

Jurgen is a fantastic manager and one of the best in

the world