Jurgen Klopp Discusses Pep Guardiola Phone Call After Liverpool's UCL Final Win
June 2, 2019
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp revealed Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola called him after the Reds' UEFA Champions League final win over Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, and the two are looking forward to another tense battle next season.
Klopp made the revelation in a press conference after the Reds beat Spurs 2-0 in Madrid:
"A second ago I spoke to Pep Guardiola on the phone. Our head physio [Lee Nobes] worked for Manchester City at the start of the year, but he wanted to win the Champions League...no, it's a joke.
"We promised each other that we will kick each other's butts again next season. We will go for everything and see what we get.
"Getting 97 points in the Premier League and winning the Champions League is an unbelievable long way to go, and we did it. That's incredible.
"Now we've won something; we will carry on. We will win things. That is big. I am really happy."
Sportswriter David Chisnall shared footage of the interview:
Mohamed Salah opened the scoring from the penalty spot two minutes in on Saturday, and Divock Origi snatched a late second goal in the 87th minute to win the Reds their sixth Champions League/European Cup trophy.
It was Klopp's first piece of silverware at Anfield after coming close twice in the last year. The Reds lost the 2018 Champions League final to Real Madrid 3-1 and just missed out on the Premier League title this season.
Guardiola and his troops defended their title in spectacular fashion, winning all of their Premier League matches after a 2-1 loss at Newcastle United on Jan. 29. That was enough to beat Liverpool to the title by a single point.
The Reds got their chance to celebrate on Saturday, however, and Klopp received plenty of praise after the contest. Sportswriter Craig Foster is a fan of the former Borussia Dortmund boss:
Craig Foster @Craig_FosterYou simply have to love him: Klopp: "I lost the last 6 finals I was in. They were hardly the best days of my life, but they didn't make me a broken person. For me, life is about trying again and again; if only the winners were allowed to survive then we'd all have to go" 🏆 https://t.co/Gg20jOtZ2J
Ian Doyle of the Liverpool Echo believes there's much more to come:
Liverpool will enter the summer with few, if any, weaknesses. The starting XI is littered with talent, including star forward Salah, goalkeeper Alisson and centre-back Virgil van Dijk, this year's PFA Players' Player of the Year.
Depth was an area of concern at times in the 2018-19 campaign, but Origi showed those concerns may have been overblown by scoring on Saturday and twice against Barcelona in the 4-0 semi-final win.
With a Champions League-winning starting XI to build around, the Reds are likely to add to their depth in the summer before making another run at their first title win since 1990.