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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp hailed as 'special to play for'

Jurgen Klopp is unveiled as the new manager of Liverpool FC as he stands alongside Tom Werner (l) the chairman and Ian Ayre (r) the chief executive
Image: Jurgen Klopp is unveiled as the new manager of Liverpool FC as he stands alongside Tom Werner (l) the chairman and Ian Ayre (r) the chief executive

Jurgen Klopp may have labelled himself as the 'normal one', but Liverpool players have been told they are in for a special experience during the German's tenure at Anfield.

Klopp was appointed as Reds boss on Thursday, replacing Brendan Rodgers, and gave an impressive first press conference in which he said he was just a 'normal guy'.

However former German international Patrick Owomeyela, who played for Borussia Dortmund from 2008-2013, taking in Klopp's reign in its entirety at the Westfalenstadion, hailed the 48-year-old as a remarkable manager to work for.

"I would say he is the normal one compared to different managers in the Premier League but he is a special one over here," he told Sky Sports News HQ.

Patrick Owomoyela jogs next to former Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp
Image: Patrick Owomoyela jogs next to former Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp

"He is not quite normal when it comes to being on the sidelines during the games and he has a special approach to the team as well so he's not the normal one but a normal guy, of course.

"He can get a little moody when things are not going the way he wants them to but when his team is playing the way he likes he is maybe the loudest in the stadium cheering for his team, jumping all around.

"He puts so much energy from the sidelines on to the team on the pitch and it is special to play for him."

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Jurgen Klopp new manager of Liverpool at Anfield
Image: Jurgen Klopp is the new manager of Liverpool

Klopp revolutionised an ailing Borussia Dortmund side after taking over in 2008, leading the club to back-to-back Bundesliga titles, a DFB-Pokal Cup and a Champions League final appearance in 2013.

Owomeyela said Klopp became close with his players but they always knew who the boss was in the changing room.

"We had success right away from the beginning so we believed in him and he believed in us and that was the basic key to the success in the first years," he said.

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Jurgen Klopp was gave his first press conference as the new Liverpool manager at Anfield on Friday, watch all his best quotes here

"He's close with the players, basically like another guy on the team so sometimes you would forget that he is your manager because you talk to him like any other guy on the team but then he has this way of being this managing figure, this coach, and you will listen to him.

"He is a natural when it comes to being the boss in the room so when he is in the room and he wants you to listen, you would notice and you would know.

"So you will always know when he is talking to you like a normal guy, just talking and making fun sometimes, or if he is your manager and he wants you to listen and to follow his lead.

Juergen Klopp, head coach of Dortmund lifts the trophy after winning the german title on May 5, 2012
Image: Jurgen Klopp won the German title with Borussia Dortmund in 2012

"He just told us that there was a way we could improve everything, we could improve our game, we could improve every one for themselves but as a team as well if we just did a couple of things the way he wanted us to.

"He actually had quite a good way to put pictures in your head, he would not just tell you what he wants from you, he could put pictures in your head so he could show you what you needed to do to be a part of it and it was easy to follow him as a coach."

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Klopp's Dortmund's side were known for their high-tempo football, with high pressing but despite that Owomeyela said training sessions mostly revolved around working with the ball.

"There are a couple of really tough weeks in the beginning of the pre-season," he said.

"When it comes to the normal season, basically everything is with the ball. You play a lot of football, you do a lot of running but it is always included in a game or in some exercises. It's not just running or just physical exercise.

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"You will do it every now and then but mostly it is just in the pre-season and then it is just the way he wants you to play and he lets you play which is basically an exercise for the way he wants you to run on the pitch.

"You learn by doing, it is not as tough as everybody would think - there are different coaches in the Bundesliga who let you run and during the season they will put you in a training camp for a couple of days, just running to get fit. We never did that, we worked on that in the pre-season, then during the season it was all playing football with the ball."

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