“I admire him, but I was never close enough to him. I watched his teams playing, that’s pretty exceptional. The rest I got from newspapers and stuff like this,” Jurgen Klopp replied when asked if Marcelo Bielsa's managerial methods have had an influence on his own approach.
“I analysed some games, even in the past already and had a look at that. We have a different approach; there are similarities obviously, but there are big differences as well.
“I like him without knowing him as a proper character, obviously. And maybe the hardest-working of all of us, I don’t know, I think we all work pretty much but I don’t think we really can compete with him in that area.
“When I think about the analysis he presented around the Derby game! That was some information about the opponent obviously. We have a lot of information, I’m not sure we have exactly the same amount. That was funny as well.
“I’m really looking forward to meeting him. He is an inspiration for all coaches because what he is doing, he sticks to it and really pushes it through – and is successful with it. That makes him a very, very interesting figure in this business.”
Liverpool will host Bielsa's Leeds United in their 2020/21 Premier League opener on Saturday. Jordan Henderson, Xherdan Shaqiri and Kostas Tsimikas are all doubts for the encounter despite returning to the main group in training.
