Jurgen Klopp labels Carabao Cup victory ‚most special trophy‘ of his career
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes Sunday’s Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea was the most special trophy triumph of his entire career.
The Reds boss, who has two Bundesliga titles to his name and previously led Liverpool to Premier League and Champions League glory, had to battle a significant number of injuries to his senior players at Wembley and ended the game with several inexperienced academy talents on the field.
Jarell Quansah, Bobby Clark, James McConnell and Jayden Danns boast a combined 17 Premier League appearances between them but all helped make the difference on Sunday, and Klopp believes that made this win the best of his career.
„What we see today is so exceptional,“ he said after the game. „We might never see it again, these things don’t happen in football. Apparently, you don’t win trophies with kids, I didn’t know that.
„It is easily the most special trophy I’ve ever won. It’s absolutely exceptional. I wish I could feel pride more often, tonight that’s the overwhelming feeling – nothing to do with maybe my last game at Wembley. It was how everyone contributed.
„Seeing the faces of these kids. Nobody will ever forget this story – it’s so difficult. This tonight, if you find the same story with academy players coming on against a top side and still winning it, wow.“
While the victory did add another trophy to Klopp’s outstanding Liverpool legacy, the German insisted he is beyond caring about his personal CV and insisted his focus is solely on creating happiness for the people of Liverpool.
„I couldn’t care less about my legacy, I’m not here to create one,“ he stressed. „I’m here to do the job. We’ve learned so much in this time. From time to time you need something to really celebrate, this was so special.
„We had problems before before the game, injuries, we had a referee who wasn’t up to the level of the game – no common sense again. You see tired players. I have no clue who can play on Wednesday [against Southampton in the FA Cup].
„We finished the game with players who have [injury] problems. But for tonight, it is a night I will never forget. If no one else sees it like that, no problem, but for me it’s a really special memory.“