A first trophy in seven years for Liverpool and a first win in seven finals for Juergen Klopp. The European Cup is heading back to Anfield for the sixth time and their manager is confident there is much more to come.
A beaming Klopp revealed after Saturday’s 2-0 final victory over Tottenham Hotspur in Madrid that he had received a congratulatory telephone call from Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola.
Three weeks ago, the Reds were denied a first league title in 30 years by City, despite losing just once and racking up 97 points, but winning the UEFA Champions League makes up for that disappointment.
Photo: AFP
“We promised each other already that we will kick our butts next year again,” Klopp said of his brief exchange with Guardiola in between speaking to reporters at the Metropolitano Stadium. “We will go for everything and we’ll see if we get something.”
It was a sentiment shared by center-back Virgil van Dijk as he spoke after being named man of the match in the final.
“In July when we start again, everyone starts on nil and everyone’s working towards their goals,” he said. “Obviously we want to challenge for every trophy if possible. We have the squad for it, but you’ve also seen it this year, you still have to do it.”
Liverpool had won nothing at all since defeating Cardiff City on penalties in the League Cup final in 2012. It was a trophy, but not on the same level as this.
After losing the Europa League final in 2016 and last year’s Champions League final against Real Madrid, Liverpool seized their chance this time thanks to Mohamed Salah’s early penalty and Divock Origi’s late strike.
This was already a club reborn under the German’s management, but such a tangible reward was needed, three-and-a-half years on from his arrival on Merseyside.
“Now we won something, and we will carry on,” Klopp said. “We want to win things, 100 percent. This is only the start for this group. It’s a wonderful age group. They still have the best times in their career still ahead of them, so that’s big.”
The former Borussia Dortmund coach has continually improved Liverpool in his time at the club, and nowhere was that more evident on Saturday than in goal.
Twelve months after two hideous errors by Loris Karius cost them dear against Real, his replacement Alisson showed just why Liverpool were prepared to pay £66.8 million (US$84.42 million) to sign him from AS Roma as he made several key saves late in the match.
Van Dijk was again outstanding too — so good that it was put to him that he could be a contender to win this year’s Ballon d’Or.
It was not a great game and it was not vintage Liverpool, but Klopp emphasized the importance of getting over the line.
Now he hopes to strengthen the side again for next season, with the new campaign starting on Aug. 10.
Four days after that, they are to play Europa League winners Chelsea in the UEFA Super Cup in Istanbul, and some fans are already dreaming of a return to the Turkish city next year, when it is to host the Champions League final.
“We know that sometimes we carry the burden of history and making Istanbul happen again will be a target I would say, but it will be difficult,” Klopp said.
Their previous Champions League win came in Istanbul in 2005, when they beat AC Milan on penalties.
“To be two years in a row in the Champions League final, it’s something we hope to do every year, but we know ourselves how difficult it is to reach,” Van Dijk added.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB