Jurgen Klopp was in hysterics after learning that meaning behind “booby prize”.
The Liverpool boss was speaking after being quizzed on failing to reach the Champions League next season and if the consolation of entry into the Europa League could prove a hindrance, as been the case with so many English Premier League sides over the years.
Plenty of top flight managers south of the border have viewed UEFA’s second tier competition as a problem when it comes to the league with the Thursday night fixtures resulting in them often playing catch-up with league games pushed back to a Sunday after Europa League games. Klopp, though, wasn’t having that when asked at his press conference ahead of the Reds final fixture of the season against Southampton at St Mary’s.
And the German was left perplexed when one journalist asked him if, after missing out on the Champions League for the first time in seven years, finishing fifth in the EPL meant they were rewarded with a “booby prize”. The grinning Liverpool boss said: "A what?" When the reporter repeated his question, Klopp asked: "What's that?" The reporter and the club press officer proceeded to explain that it’s a prize you don’t want to win.
Klopp answered "no" to the question before laughing: "A booby? I needed to become fifth to learn that word!” The Reds gaffer the dismissed the claim and stud it was a “massive prize” which he has set his sights on winning when the final is staged in Dublin next season.
READ NEXT
