Jurgen Klopp says his door is open for Sven-Goran Eriksson to live his dream of being Liverpool manager ‘for a day’ after the ex-England’s coach’s cancer diagnosis.
Liverpool club officials have contacted Eriksson’s family to discuss the possibility of his being able to play a role in the legends match with Ajax on March 23.
Klopp said he was touched by the news that Eriksson has been told he may have only a year to live, following which the Swede reaffirmed his long-held allegiance towards the Anfield club.
A campaign to enable Eriksson to manage the Liverpool legends team in their annual charity match this spring was instantly launched by supporters, and Klopp offered the hand of friendship.
“Absolutely he’s very welcome to come here and he can sit in my seat in my office and do my job for a day if he wants. That’s no problem,” said Klopp.
“Being on the sideline might be a little bit more difficult but to have him here and show him everything and how this wonderful club developed over the years, I think that’s definitely something we will tell him.
“I don’t know him, unfortunately. I know him without knowing him because we never met, as far as I know.
“It was obviously very touching news when I heard about it (the illness). I heard for the first time about his admiration or love for Liverpool and that he was a fan for his whole life and I heard now about the legends game and stuff like that. I’m not in charge of that so I can’t say anything about that, but he can come over and have a few wonderful hours here, I’m sure.”
Eriksson was England’s coach when the national team played at Anfield against Paraguay in April 2002 and Uruguay in 2006. Before the 2006 fixture, he spoke about how much he revered and was influenced by the famous Anfield boot room in his formative years as a coach.
“As a young man I came here to Anfield now and then, and I visited the famous boot room,” he explained.
“Joe Fagan invited me there 30 years ago. I saw them training and I saw them play in games many times and I learned many things.
“Joe was a very nice man and I got to know him quite well. They were always very helpful and I learned a lot. But I think all the world learned from the great Liverpool teams of that time. They kept the ball, kept things simple. It was very difficult to attack them. You have one very special thing here which makes me freeze, and that’s ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ when it is sung before the teams come out.”
