Also, worry about ex-players
Klopp condemns ‘a really bad man’s war’
02/28/2022, 1:00 p.m
Jürgen Klopp has strong opinions, and not just in football. This is now evident in the war in Ukraine. The Liverpool FC coach positions himself clearly against Putin. At the same time he fears for several former players who will probably fight in their home country.
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has sharply condemned Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. “I’m 54 years old, almost 55. It’s beyond my understanding how a bad person can put the whole world in such a situation. Especially the people in Ukraine, of course,” said Klopp on Norwegian TV broadcaster Viaplay Sport after the win in the English Football League Cup final against Chelsea on Sunday evening.
His club won the game 11:10 in a spectacular penalty shootout. Klopp, however, was far from just thinking about football. He knows, said Klopp, “many Ukrainians and also Russians”, but the attack on Ukraine was “the war of a really bad man”, said the coach with reference to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin: “We have to show solidarity, real solidarity. In dark times you always need moments to think about something else. I’m glad we were able to deliver that today.”
Klopp and his team have been “constantly on the phone for days, and we read all this stuff. Former players of mine are probably at war now,” he reported, “I don’t know exactly, they went straight back to their home country.”
At the same time, Klopp again campaigned for solidarity: “It looks like we can’t stop him,” he said in reference to Putin. “But at least we can cause him more problems than he might have expected. And maybe that will help the people of Ukraine.”