Liverpool

Liverpool owner John W Henry: 'Jurgen Klopp has done a tremendous job'

By Daniel Lewis, Senior ReporterPublished: 25 May 2018 2:41 PM

Liverpool owner John W Henry admits that he took some persuading to appoint Jurgen Klopp as manager in 2015, but is delighted with the decision.

Liverpool owner John W Henry has heaped praise on "natural leader" Jurgen Klopp for guiding the club to the Champions League final.

The Reds have defied the odds to make it all the way to the Kiev showpiece, where they will take on the competition's most successful side in Real Madrid.

Henry has lifted the lid on Liverpool's decision to appoint Klopp as Brendan Rodgers's successor in October 2015, three years after initially approaching him, and says that winning the world's top club prize would be a deserved reward for the German coach.

"It took [sporting director] Michael Edwards winning more and more of the battles internally to get us to the point when we met with Jurgen," the Daily Mail quotes him as saying. "[Klopp] said: 'I really want to coach this group this will be fun.'

"He has done a tremendous job getting us into this position. He has been just as effective in inspiring not just our players but everyone who loves this club. He is an inspired, natural leader who is sensitive to what some might see as small things but are very important over the long term.

"Being in the final is a reflection of the incredible support this club gets at Anfield and the ability of Jurgen and the entire staff to put our players in the position to be successful. You can do all of that but the players have to step up and they have."

Klopp has also previously managed Mainz 05 and Borussia Dortmund in his native Germany.