Thursday 26 October 2017 17:14, UK
David Wagner says coming up against best friend Jurgen Klopp will be "extraordinary", when Huddersfield take on Liverpool on Saturday.
The pair share a close friendship, so much so that Wagner was best man at Klopp's wedding, and the Huddersfield boss revealed he regards the Liverpool manager as a member of family.
The pair will meet competitively as managers for the first time, but despite their relationship, Wagner says the true story of his side's visit to Anfield is that of what Huddersfield have achieved in their journey to get there.
"Even when I joined Huddersfield and he was already the manager of Liverpool, I never thought we would meet ever in the Premier League. It was never in my head," said Wagner.
"It is, for sure, something extraordinary. It's a great relationship. It's more than friendship. Maybe he's more a family member than a friend. That is the truth.
"He is the manager of Liverpool, I am the manager of Huddersfield Town and now we play Premier League. Great story.
"For sure I am looking forward to it because he's the manager, but I would be looking forward to the game... I looked forward when I met Jose Mourinho.
"It is extraordinary, yes it is, because he's my best friend and he's the manager of Liverpool, but I think the really important thing and extraordinary story is if Huddersfield Town beat Liverpool in the Premier League in a competitive game.
"I don't know how many years since this football club was able to play at Anfield in a competitive game - this is the real big story for us."
The Terriers travel to Merseyside off the back of a famous 2-1 win over Manchester United and sit just one point behind Liverpool.
"Of course, such a result with such a performance gives everybody a boost and confidence for what we have to do in the future,"Wagner said.
"It helps massively for every single player and every single person in our club to grow on the belief and the trust.
"You have to hope and you have to believe and, if you have a chance, take it. This will help us, for more than only the next weekend."
In contrast, Liverpool will be looking to bounce back from a heavy defeat after they went down 4-1 to Tottenham last weekend.
The display, which ruthlessly exploited Liverpool's defensive woes, prompted a despondent post-match reaction from Klopp, and Wagner admitted his friend's side did not perform well.
"He has had some other defeats over his managerial career so I have seen reactions like this before and I think this was maybe the first and maybe as well the only game where, from my point of view, I think they really under-performed," he said.
"This is part of football and we, for ourselves, will not judge Liverpool on the last result."
Wagner, a former reserve-team boss under Klopp at Borussia Dortmund, believes his understanding of the Liverpool manager's tactics makes his own preparation for the clash easier.
"It makes it much easier. I don't have to invest too much time because I know everything that I have to know already," he added.
"I think we will be prepared as good as we can.
"We know everything that we have to know about individuals and their strengths.
"If we are able to play a game like last Sunday where we made not one single, avoidable, easy mistake, and we were totally focused and concentrated from the first to the final whistle then, I think it will depend a lot on how we react.
"I can expect that we hope and believe we are able to get a result and I expect we try everything with the highest fighting spirit."
