ESPN Brasil this week features an interview with former Borussia Dortmund left-back Dedê. But instead of speaking about his career generally, the focus of the conversation was his time working under Jurgen Klopp.
It was under the German manager that the player won a Bundesliga title, and he’s talked about the great relationship they had.
As Klopp now commands the likes of Alisson, Fabinho and Roberto Firmino at Liverpool, Dedê says the coach has always had a special affection for Brazilian players.
“He likes Brazilians a lot. Some get along, others don’t, which is normal. But he really likes our football, which has a creative way of improvising in a small space,” Dedê told ESPN Brasil.
“He is a happy guy and on a daily basis there’s friendship. He demands from anyone he has to and says what he needs to say. That I think is very cool for him. Klopp knows how to take everything the player has and even what the guy thinks he doesn’t have.”
On the comparison between Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp from the time of the rivalry between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, Dedê described the German manager as a fan of a different type of football.
“He’s a guy who, in terms of playing football, doesn’t make as much difference as Guardiola did. They are different jobs. I never saw another team like Guardiola’s Barcelona, it got boring. That possession of the ball against any team was something abnormal. They played with one defender, without a centre forward…”
“Klopp’s game system is basic rice and beans in Europe, where everyone has to defend. The forward takes the fullback and the centre-forward covers the build up. The difference is that he knows how to show the players that they need to do this for the team to be champions. He’s motivating.”
Dedê also had a funny story about a time when Klopp became mad at him. It happened in his early time at Borussia Dortmund, when the player even helped the manager to find a house. The Brazilian was leading Klopp to the club’s training centre, and a mistake saw them both fined by the club.
“We got a lot of traffic to go to the Training Centre and I tried to teach a new way. He followed my car, but I got lost and we were late for training. The worst thing is that I knew the route well, but I don’t know what happened that day.
“The players were always waiting to see who would be late, but the one who was late that day was the coach. It was a minute or two, but we had to pay a fine. They made fun of him and he was annoyed (laughs).”
