Long before Liverpool reached last season’s Champions League final, preparations for a possible showdown in Madrid were being made by Pepijn “Pep” Lijnders. The semi-final against Barcelona had not been played but Jürgen Klopp’s assistant was already contemplating the ideal preparation. He thought about inviting a team who could mimic Ajax’s or Tottenham’s style, to give Liverpool an idea of what they could expect if they overcame Barça.
The location was decided. Marbella’s weather was similar to Madrid’s and it would be relatively easy to fly a team there secretly. “I really wanted to organise a game because otherwise it would have been three weeks without any competitive action,” Lijnders says. “I wanted us to play a similar team to the opponents we could face in Madrid. The idea was to privately invite a team to train three to four days in the way we wanted them to play us in the friendly.”
Written by Arthur Renard
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/dec/02/liverpool-pep-lijnders-jurgen-klopp-assistant-paddle-tennis-james-milner under the title “Liverpool’s Pep Lijnders: ‘Our identity is intensity. It comes back in every drill’”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
