In an interview with German TV channel SPORT1, Liverpool midfielder Emre Can has commented on Jurgen Klopp and Borussia Dortmund in the build up to Thursday’s Europa League Quarter Final tie:
“Dortmund are a great team and they are one of the favourites in this tournament, but we are not bad either… We have shown in the past few weeks that we have at least a 50:50 chance of winning. The little things will decide the game. It is a very, very exciting game. The form on the day will decide the two matches.”
When asked about Jurgen Klopp. Can Said
“I’ve never had such an emotional coach. If you see him only in the games on the touchline, then you see what kind of guy he is – that says it all – Jürgen Klopp is a great coach… Anyone who knows him, knows that he is a crazy coach in a positive sense and will help the players. It is a lot of fun to work with him, and I’m learning a lot from him…Our relationship is just like any other player, but it’s also very, very good. I speak the language he speaks. Therefore, for both of us it is much easier. We talk a lot, and on the pitch he often tells me something in German that I send out to the other players.”
Can also commented on the expectations of being a Liverpool player:
“People expect a lot from us, and we expect the same from ourselves.The fans are always behind us no matter how the game goes. I’ve never heard catcalls from a fan in the stadium. Liverpool simply lives for the club from the bakery to the taxi driver, everybody knows about the team.”
Since his move from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2014 for €12million, Can has grown in stature and the 22 year old has been a regular in midfield since Klopp’s appointment back in October. During the recent internationals however, he was played at right back by Joachim Low for Germany, and struggled against England in a 3-2 defeat. Against Tottenham at the weekend he looked more assured and far more comfortable back in a more familiar role in the centre of midfield. Can will need to be at his best again when the Reds face Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park (formerly the Westfalenstadion) in a couple of days time.
