Soccer

Ahead of Bournemouth game, Liverpool boss says yes to Goran-Eriksson’s Anfield dream

‘He’s very welcome to … sit in my seat in my office and do my job for a day if he wants — that’s no problem’

Jürgen Klopp rates academy graduate Conor Bradley highly. Peter Byrne/PA
Jürgen Klopp rates academy graduate Conor Bradley highly. Peter Byrne/PA
Will Unwin
Fri Jan 19 2024 - 22:30

Jürgen Klopp would welcome Sven Goran-Eriksson to live out his dream of being Liverpool manager for a day after the Swede’s terminal cancer diagnosis.

There have been calls to allow the 75-year-old to be manager for an upcoming Liverpool Legends match against Ajax in March. Liverpool supporter Eriksson says he always wished he would manage the club but the opportunity never arose in an extensive career that took in spells in charge of England, Lazio and Manchester City.

“I heard for the first time about his admiration or love for Liverpool and that he was a fan for his whole life,” said Klopp, who takes the league leaders to Bournemouth on Sunday. “He’s very welcome to come here and he can sit in my seat in my office and do my job for a day if he wants — that’s no problem. To have him here and show him everything and how this wonderful club developed over the years, I think that’s definitely something we will tell him. He can come over and have a few wonderful hours here I’m sure.”

Klopp will be without Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson and Dominik Szoboszlai at Bournemouth but the emergence of several academy graduates has strengthened the squad’s depth and meant the club could avoid entering the market.

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Liverpool fan Sven Goran Eriksson always harboured hopes of managing the Anfield outfit but the chance never materialised. Photograph: Marco Rosi/SS Lazio/Getty Images
Liverpool fan Sven Goran Eriksson always harboured hopes of managing the Anfield outfit but the chance never materialised. Photograph: Marco Rosi/SS Lazio/Getty Images

“Conor [Bradley] after the loan, and same for Jarell [Quansah], when the pre-season started they looked ready from the first game,” Klopp said. “It’s always the same thing, ‘you have to buy a right back so Trent can play in midfield, you have to buy a centre half’. But we have Conor, we have Jarell. It’s not a popular opinion but if we had bought a right back or centre half, these boys would not have shown [their ability].”

Klopp will come up against Andoni Iraola for the second time on Sunday. Bournemouth have lost once in their past eight league games after failing to win any of their opening nine fixtures after replacing Gary O’Neil. “To see the outcome now, I’m pretty sure at Bournemouth they smiled a lot recently and thought, ‘oh my god it worked out,’” said Klopp. “It was brave and it worked out — I like that a lot. I respect that a lot. You can really see the impact of a coach and that always has my respect.”

Liverpool are waiting to hear the extent of the injury suffered by Mohamed Salah during Egypt’s Africa Cup of Nations match against Ghana. The forward was replaced because of a hamstring problem in the 2-2 draw. “It was in that moment a shock: ‘oh my God, what is it?’” said Klopp. “We all know how rarely Mo goes off or needs to go off so there is definitely something and we will see.”