Liverpool team my best ever in a final, says Klopp

Liverpool team my best ever in a final, says Klopp
Liverpool team my best ever in a final, says Klopp

Liverpoolmanager Juergen Klopp says his team who take on Tottenham Hotspur in Saturday'sChampions League final are the best he has ever managed in such a game.

Klopp hasappeared in seven finals with Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool but has lost thelast six after winning his first one in the 2012 German Cup with Dortmundagainst Bayern Munich.

"I don'tlike to blame my other teams. I love them all. They all gave everything but Ihave never been part of a final with a better team than this," Klopp told anews conference on Tuesday.

"Indifferent times, for different reasons my teams were good as well. But I am notso surprised because our boys mix our potential with attitude in the best way Ihave witnessed. That is brilliant," he said.

Klopp saidhis side's semi-final comeback against Barcelona, where they overturned a 3-0first-leg deficit with a stunning 4-0 victory at Anfield, showed what hisplayers are capable of.

"These boysdid it for the chance of being there, gave us a lot, showed us a lot and in thefive-six days between Barcelona and Barcelona, nobody believed more than theteam themselves," he said.

"That is whywe are here. It is a sensational situation," he said.

Klopp haslost all three finals he has reached with Liverpool, in Europe anddomestically, and he also tasted defeat in two German Cups and a ChampionsLeague final with Dortmund.

The Germansaid last year's loss to Real Madrid in Kiev had "hurt" and that memory hadspurred the team on in this campaign.

"It had abig influence on us. I remember that situation. When we stood in the queue inthe airport in Kiev, all in tracksuits, heads down. There were a lot ofdifferent emotions," Klopp added.

"But theplan was, we come again, we will be there again and now we are there, that isjust incredible.

"I thinkpretty much each team that loses the final things we will put it right but theydon't all have the chance. It was the kickstart for the development of thisteam, 100 percent. This team is not even to compare with the team of lastyear."

Asked ifreaching the Champions League final for the second straight year was thehighlight of his managerial career, Klopp gave a surprise answer.

"If I winit, yes. It would be different to the last finals. Is bringing the team to theChampions final again the biggest moment in my career? No, that was 2004,getting promoted (to the Bundesliga) with Mainz. If you had known the money wehad, the circumstances we had, nobody needed us in the first league," he said.

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