Claudio Ranieri has revealed Jurgen Klopp helped him recover from his Greek tragedy. The Leicester boss visited Borussia Dortmund’s training camp earlier this year following his sacking from the Greece national team last November.
– Valora: This week’s fans’ top-5 in the EPL
– GRAY AND KEYS: LVG exit now a matter of time
– SILVA: Big interview with Manchester City star
– VOTE NOW: End of Year #360Awards 2015
Klopp had taken his side to La Manga for a winter break and Ranieri went to watch the German work. The top of the table Foxes go to Klopp’s Liverpool on Boxing Day and Ranieri admitted he wanted to learn from his new Premier League rival.
He said: “They were in La Manga in Spain, I went there. I had my Greece player there (Sokratis Papastathopoulos) I called him and asked if Klopp would agree. “I watched Pep Guardiola, I watched Bayer Leverkusen last winter, I was in Germany three times.
“I have a lot of spirit for this, for this reason, it’s a great experience, I want to see and I want to learn. The football is always the same, but if you have an open mind you take. Dortmund were in a bad position but it was unbelievable as they played so well. They created five or six chances but didn’t score.
“For me it’s not important what a manager is doing in a little period, it’s about the big period.”
Ranieri’s reputation took a battering after he lost four and drew one of his five games as Greece boss but the 64-year-old is not bothered by his past despite restoring his reputation at the King Power Stadium.
He added: “For me my reputation is not important, I know I’m an honest man, I am not ‘good after I was not good’. It’s the right balance. I love my job, I have so much passion.”
JK: “Ranieri is one of the most experienced and successful coaches in the world. There is big respect from both sides.” #LFC
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 24, 2015
While the Foxes are soaring high at the top of the table, Liverpool have tailed off since Klopp took charge in October. However, the German will not use injuries as an excuse as he seeks to turn around their dip in form.
Klopp has half-a-dozen senior players unavailable as he heads into a period of nine matches in 31 days as centre-back Martin Skrtel was the latest to be added to the list alongside striker Daniel Sturridge and James Milner – although goalkeeper Simon Mignolet and defender Dejan Lovren will return – as Klopp attempts to arrest a sequence of four matches without a win.
“Daniel is still doing his little pre-season, his intensive training, and he will do this for seven, eight, nine or 10 days and then we will see what happens then,” said the Reds boss.
“Martin is now missing and that is not perfect but it is not our place to complain about this. Martin is a tough guy and he usually recovers quick but we can’t put pressure on him. We have to wait a few weeks and that is bad news for us.”
