“Thank God these people don’t make decisions.”
Jurgen Klopp never had any doubts over Thiago Alcantara’s suitability for his Liverpool team following initial criticism when he signed in 2020.
Thiago won man-of-the-match following Liverpool’s emphatic 4-0 victory against Manchester United at Anfield on Wednesday night.
Last season, former Reds midfielder Dietmar Hamann said Thiago ‘doesn’t play the Liverpool way,’ Klopp did not forget his comments.
Didi Hamann’s criticism of Thiago.
Hamann, 48, thought Thiago’s style of play didn’t suit Liverpool. The Spaniard was sporadic in the Reds midfield last season due to a knee injury that he picked up in the Merseyside derby.
The 2005 Champions League winner criticised Thiago’s urgency on the ball, suggesting Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane need the ball straight away to be most effective.
“He slows things down and doesn’t really play the way Liverpool play,” Hamann remarked in 2021.
“Liverpool in the past have had hard-working midfielders, they were not as skillful as Thiago, but they have the ball to Mane and Salah early. If you get the ball early on the wing, and these guys can run at players they are very hard to stop.
“I just feel with Thiago, everyone was raving about him coming to Liverpool, he’s hardly played.”
Jurgen Klopp on Thiago’s criticism.
Klopp highlighted the criticism Thiago faced during his first season at Liverpool. This season the 31-year-old has been a mainstay in the Reds midfield making 30 appearances in all competitions.
Hamann suggested Thiago “slows things down” and doesn’t play the style of football that Liverpool requires; Klopp disagreed with this view.
Klopp highlighted that the former Bayern Munich midfielder was well aware of Liverpool’s philosophy before signing for the club in 2020.
“People were questioning if he suits our football? Thank God these people don’t make decisions,” Klopp said.
“If a player is calming a game down in moments due to a lot of reasons. One of them is just to have a look, or whatever, it is, of course, nothing we thought (was wrong).
“It is more important Thiago wanted to join us and he knew how we played. He is a real football person and thinks a lot about football. He knew how we played and he knew he would fit in and we knew it as well.”
Liverpool remain on track to complete the quadruple, having won the Carabao Cup. They are still competing for the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup.
Related links:
- Jurgen Klopp says he will miss Everton if they get relegated.
- Mohamed Salah suggests next season could be his last at Liverpool.
- Mohamed Salah clarifies ‘make it easy’ comments after Man United mauling.
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