Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp says it’s no surprise Ange Postecoglou is getting a tune out of Tottenham after watching the Australian head coach thrive in his former role at Celtic FC.
Klopp and Postecoglou are set to go head-to-head in the Premier League this week when Liverpool travel to face Tottenham on Sunday morning (AEST).
Both sides are unbeaten after six games, with fourth-placed Spurs looking a completely new side under Postecoglou’s watch, winning four games and drawing two.
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Liverpool have won five of six games (one draw) to begin the season, taking points off Chelsea, Newcastle and Wolves in three tricky away games thus far. Klopp says the trip to Tottenham continues Liverpool’s difficult run of road trips, and the prospect of facing Postecoglou’s “well set-up, exciting to watch” Spurs outfit sets up a massive test for Liverpool to overcome.
“Tottenham is doing really well,” Klopp said.
“Ange seems to be a top bloke. (We haven’t met) yet, I’m looking forward to meeting him.
“I’m pretty sure everybody knew that, when you saw Celtic play in recent years, what kind of coach he is, how good he is as a coach.”
Postecoglou arrived at Celtic in 2021 from the J1 League and Yokohama F.Marinos as a relative unknown in Europe; he went on to win five of a possible six major trophies in the following two seasons at Parkhead, before making the move to Tottenham.
Klopp says the circumstances of Postecoglou’s arrival make the optimism around the club early in his tenure all the more impressive.
The Australian took the reins at Spurs just six weeks before the departure of the club’s all-time record goalscorer Harry Kane to Bayern Munich, amid a deep fan malaise following the failures of big-name coaches Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte to win silverware while playing a brand of football rejected by and large by the fanbase.
“(Postecoglou came) out to Tottenham (when) I think they were all desperate for some offensive football, and he’s delivering that, in a year when Harry Kane left the club,” Klopp said.
“Yeah, he’s doing extremely well. They (are doing) extremely well. A well set-up team, exciting to watch, so it will be a real test – for both of us.”
“I don’t think they’ve won the game already, but we don’t think we’ve lost it already, so we will give it a try.”
Postecoglou fronted the media shortly after Klopp on Friday afternoon in London, and when asked for his opinion on Liverpool’s mastermind, was reciprocal in his praise.
Postecoglou said Klopp’s body of work is unique in the Premier League due to the impact he’s had on the league as a whole, not just Liverpool.
“They’ve been a very good football team for a while now,” Postecoglou said.
“They fell off the pace a little bit last year, but the elements of who they are as a football team have always been there. It’s a great test for us tomorrow, because they kind of bring something different to any other team in the league in the way they play, and the manner in which they go about things.
“It will be a really good test for us, again trying to impose our football on a team that is fairly unique in the way they play the game.
“Jürgen is an outstanding manager. He’s one of these managers I think it’s fair to say has made an impact on the competition, not just his club.
“When he came in, with the way Liverpool went about things, I think he challenged quite a few of the conventions about the Premier League, and introduced a new style of play that others have followed.
“He’s an outstanding manager.”
The fitness of a number of key Tottenham attackers has been a major media focus in the build-up to Liverpool’s trip to North London.
Postecoglou confirmed young winger Brennan Johnson would miss the clash due to a hamstring injury. Key creator James Maddison and captain Son Heung-min both trained on Friday, but are touch-and-go with respective injury complaints.
“We’ll see how they pull up after training,” Postecoglou said.
“They got through everything we needed them to get through, but it will depend on how they pull up.”
Another key talking point leading into the fixture has been a focus on Postecoglou’s childhood, growing up in Melbourne as a Liverpool supporter.
Postecoglou was quick to point out his Liverpool fandom is dead and buried in a typically charismatic response to questioning on the topic.
“It was the 70’s, so you kind of went one of two ways: it seemed they only used to show Liverpool or Manchester United at the time. A couple of my best mates went for (United) and I went the other way so we could keep it interesting.
“Like any kid, I had the posters up on the wall, and Liverpool was my team, but you grow up, and things change.
“I used to love Happy Days back then too. I don’t have posters of Fonzie on my wall either. It’s just the way life is.”
