Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Nathan Ridley

Jurgen Klopp 'rule' dying out as six Liverpool stars exempt after Carabao Cup win

Liverpool 's triumph in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday marked a memorable occasion for all at Anfield - and was a special day for six players in particular.

All the way back in 2016, Jugren Klopp told his squad that they were unable to touch the famous 'This Is Anfield' sign until they won something.

And while the Reds have become Premier League and European champions in the years since, a small group of players in their roster were still without a winners' medal earned on Merseyside.

But after Sunday's nail-biting victory over Chelsea, recent signings Kostas Tsimikas, Thiago Alcantara, Diogo Jota, Kaide Gordon, Ibrahima Konate and Luis Diaz can now recognise the iconic message in the Anfield tunnel.

And their first opportunity comes as soon as Wednesday, with Liverpool welcoming Norwich City in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Join the debate! Will Liverpool win another trophy this season? Comment your prediction below.

"I've told my players not to touch the 'This Is Anfield' sign until they win something," Klopp declared six years ago.

"It's a sign of respect. I touched it when I was manager of Borussia Dortmund but we lost 4-0 [a pre-season]."

And Thiago was one man who followed his boss' orders immediately, explaining upon his arrival from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2020: "To touch that symbol we have to deserve it to win as many trophies as we can.

"That is why today I will respect that tradition."

Having won five trophies in the last three years, Klopp and co have a taste of silverware and the German is hungry for more.

In his pre-match press conference for the Norwich tie, Klopp was asked if the Reds - who are still in with a chance of winning three other competitions this season - could become the first team in British football history to manage a quadruple.

"I don't know, but we will try. But that doesn't mean… the quadruple, this wonderful story," he replied. "No team yet in the history of British football ever won the quadruple? Right? That's because it's really difficult.

"We won the Carabao Cup, we are behind [Manchester] City in the Premier League, we play Norwich tomorrow night after playing 120 minutes on Sunday, then we play West Ham.

"The fun part about your job is that you count the points before we play the games but we have to play them still. So it's not that we are even close to thinking about any crazy stuff like that, we just want to try to make sure that the boys are fit enough to face Norwich in a proper way."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.