Jamie Carragher says Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp would only last around ’12 months’ at Real Madrid – if he chose to move there. The German supposedly didn’t fancy it.
Liverpool face Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League final on May 28th. It’ll be a repeat of the 2018 final, of course, as the Reds try and find revenge for what was a calamitous display from them.
One interesting part of this match, though, is in the dugout. Jurgen Klopp will manage Liverpool and Carlo Ancelotti Real Madrid – the two coaches the Reds picked between back in 2015.
Ancelotti himself admitted he lost out on the Anfield gig. It’s safe to say that Liverpool made the right pick, as the Italian admits.
And according to Jamie Carragher, it’s simply a matter of fit. Klopp is the perfect man for Liverpool – but he couldn’t do what Ancelotti does at Real Madrid.
“The Real Madrid job is never a ‘project’ for a coach who wants time to rebuild or evolve new systems,” he wrote in the Telegraph. “That is why Klopp turned down the chance to go there.
“He could never have created a team like Liverpool in Madrid. They would have sacked him after 12 months without a trophy, regardless of how much progress was being made.”
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Liverpool vs Real Madrid
It’s hard to argue with this. Ancelotti absolutely thrives when you give him a squad of superstars to manage and his track record of fitting players together like that is remarkable.
Klopp, on the other hand, wants to build himself. Give him time and you’ll get something truly special – but things could be slow to start with. That doesn’t really mesh with Real Madrid, who tend to lose patience faster than anyone.
What we can say, then, is that two elite managers will pit their teams against one another later this month. Two elite managers who are in charge of their perfect club.