Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo has revealed the biggest lesson he learned from Jurgen Klopp was not trying to prove anything to anyone but himself.
The Dutchman has been speaking to De Telegraaf about his former boss, who departed Anfield at the end of this season.
Klopp announced his decision to leave Liverpool a year earlier than anticipated earlier this year, citing tiredness as a cause for his shock exit.
His decision brought an end to a special nine-year relationship at Anfield that has seen the German coach rebuild the club from top to bottom and enjoy success along the way, winning the Premier League, Champions League and various other trophies.
He’s been almost a talismanic figure for the club since his arrival, with many at Liverpool now putting him in the same bracket as the likes of Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley and Kenny Dalglish.
A close relationship with the players he’s worked with has been the foundation of his success at the club and Gakpo has revealed what he thinks was truly special.
“If you look at the impact he has had on the club, the fans, the players, many of whom have experienced him for much longer than I have these one and a half years: that has been very valuable to everyone,” he said.
“The most important thing I learned from him? That you don’t have to prove anything to anyone but yourself.
“When he really hit me? That is not a specific moment, but it is a gift that he was able to trigger us as players in a different way every time, to give just an extra percentage or one and a half. That was special.”
Attention now turns to Klopp’s replacement Arne Slot, who was named as his successor last month and officially took up the role on June 1st.
The Dutchman is expected to oversee something of an overhaul at Anfield, with most of Klopp’s backroom team also departing and some hoping for a drastic change up in the playing squad too.
That belief is that Slot has been targeted thanks to playing a similar system to the one Klopp employed at Anfield, the hope presumably being that it won’t be a drastic change for those key players who do stay.
Gakpo can certainly see that being the case, although he admits that he is yet to speak to his new manager about his role moving forwards.
“I just don’t know yet what he is like as a trainer and I have not spoken to him before. Then I’m not just going to shout something, am I?” he added.
“But I do know that he has always made it very difficult for us at PSV and is known as a very good trainer, of course.
“Eventually there will be a conversation about the situation of each player and what the plans are. If you talk about neat football and high pressure , with the latter being a very big characteristic of us under Jürgen Klopp, then that is also something we are certainly used to.”
