Virgil van Dijk has promised that he and his teammates will give their best to make Jürgen Klopp’s final season one to remember. The club captain described Friday’s news that the German will leave as “a tough one to take”.
“The manager means so much for us, to me, to the club,” said Van Dijk, whom Klopp brought to the club in January 2018. Under the German, Liverpool have won a Champions League and Premier League title, both domestic cups and the Club World Cup. They are in contention for this year’s domestic crown, have reached this season’s Carabao Cup final and are still in the FA Cup and Europa League.
“But he made the decision for him and his family,” continued Van Dijk in an interview published by the club. “It was always going to be a tough one and it was definitely the case. He told us in private of course and all of us were together. It’s a hard one to take but our mindset is to focus on business. We have a lot of targets still to achieve this year and why not finish the season on a high and together with celebrations for the boss as well?”
Van Dijk was speaking in advance of Sunday’s home FA Cup tie with Norwich, the fourth round of Klopp’s final assault on a competition the club won in 2022. Each match will represent another step towards Klopp’s exit, and pressure will be on Liverpool’s players to give a manager beloved among fans a glorious send-off.
“I think how we always try to manage noise from the outside,” said Van Dijk. “Of course this is massive, it’s massive news in football. For us, it was also a very big day. But we have big targets this year and that’s definitely stressed by the manager as well.
“It will maybe even give you an extra boost to do that extra or maybe enjoy it a little bit even more together and make the last part of the season, the last bit of the manager’s time at the club, the best time he’s ever had. That’s what we strive for and that’s why it’s business as usual.”
Klopp’s announcement on Friday came as huge breaking news but reports since have suggested that the club had begun contacting the agents of suitable candidates, and a fear of a leak may have led the club to announce the news so suddenly. The Liverpool hierarchy were informed in November of his realisation that, as he said on Friday: “I know that I cannot do the job again and again and again and again.” He stated he would take a year out from football, though he did the same on departing Borussia Dortmund at the end of the 2014-15 season, only to assume Liverpool duties by the following October.
Meanwhile, speculation over Klopp’s successor continues, with Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso the initial favourite, joined by Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi, Brentford’s Thomas Frank and Tottenham’s Ange Postecoglou. Klopp’s backroom team, the assistant managers Pepijn Lijnders and Peter Krawietz, as well as the elite development coach Vítor Matos, will leave with him. Jörg Schmadtke will depart as sporting director after the closure of the winter transfer window on 1 February, leaving a further vacancy for Liverpool to fill.
