Jurgen Klopp Says Liverpool Winning Club World Cup Like 'Landing on the Moon'

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has spoken of the significance of attempting to win the Reds' first FIFA Club World Cup ahead of Saturday's final with Flamengo.

The Merseyside outfit will face the Brazilian side, who are the Copa Libertadores champions, at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar.

Per Goal's Sacha Pisani, Klopp said: "I don't know how you approach something that has never been done before—it is like landing on the moon."

He also refuted suggestions that winning the competition means more to their opponents than it does to his players, whom he said are "100 per cent clear" in their desire to win it:

"It is how it sounds: the team World Cup winner. You don't often get the chance to do so and for most of them, with the countries they play for, they never have a chance to win a World Cup, so this is the only chance.

"For me as well. But who cares about me? I don't feel pressure, but I feel a really big opportunity and I want to do it."

The manager added he will not be drawing on the Reds' history to motivate the players, though, per Ian Doyle of the Liverpool Echo:

Liverpool have won the European Cup and UEFA Champions League on six occasions in their history.

Their victories in 1981 and 1984 qualified them for the Intercontinental Cup, which was contested between the European and South American champions from 1980 until 2004. However, they lost on both occasions, to Flamengo and Independiente.

That competition merged with the Club World Cup in 2005, the year Liverpool won their fifth top-level European title. The Reds lost the Club World Cup final to Sao Paulo, however.

Since then, Chelsea are the only European champions not to win the tournament, as they lost to Corinthians in 2012.

The Reds came through a tricky test on Wednesday against Mexican side Monterrey in their semi-final, and Goal's Jack Sear was impressed with several aspects of their performance:

According to The Athletic's James Pearce, Virgil van Dijk is expected to be fit for the final after he missed the semi through illness, which required midfielder Jordan Henderson to fill in at centre-back.

Flamengo, who beat Al-Hilal 3-1 in their semi-final, have a potent attacking lineup in Gabriel Barbosa, Bruno Henriques and Giorgian de Arrascaeta.

The trio have all had a productive season for Flamengo, contributing 76 goals and 38 assists between them in 2019, so having Van Dijk back will be a timely boost for the Reds' chances on Saturday.