Klopp: Champions League route is added incentive
Jürgen Klopp insists Liverpool will be going all out to try and win the Europa League this season – and with it, secure the added bonus of a return to the Champions League next term.
The Reds resume European duties this evening with the first leg of their last 32 tie with FC Augsburg in Germany.
And as well as the primary determination to add to the club’s trophy collection, Klopp has explained why triumphing in the tournament has extra incentive.
“We are in the last 32 and we can see the line,” said the boss. “How many points in the league are we away from the Champions League? I think it is nine. So, yeah, at this moment I would say we have a better chance this way at the moment.
“Maybe the top four clubs will have a crisis. But we have to solve our own problems. We have to be at the highest motivation for the game.
“For sure the Europa League is not the shortest way to get to the Champions League. It's a really hard way and not the normal road.
“But the chance to qualify for the Champions League makes it more interesting. Ask Sevilla who would have qualified many times if the rule was in place.”
While Klopp and Liverpool are not looking any further than the two-legged tie with Bundesliga club Augsburg, the manager admits the Reds can have a confidence about their prospects of going all the way in the Europa League.
“A few teams in the world can think about winning the Europa League and I think we are one of these teams,” he said.
“We don't have to say 'we have no chance'. But if you look at the teams in the competition now it is like a little Champions League. There are a lot of high-quality teams in it.
“Sometimes you can look at winning a cup as the shortest way to get somewhere.
“I think there are a few teams when the competition starts that think they can win it. I think we are one of these teams.”
Klopp has previous experience of reaching a major European final – he took Borussia Dortmund to the 2013 Champions League showpiece at Wembley, where they faced Bayern Munich.
On that occasion, the Liverpool boss ultimately picked up a runners’ up medal following a 2-1 defeat, but he’s keen to stress the outcome of that evening has no bearing on his desire to lift a continental trophy with the Reds.
“To win football games, especially finals, you need a little bit of luck,” Klopp stated. “Everyone knows this. It is how Liverpool won their Champions League final. It was not due to the brilliance, it was the fight which was great.
“We had nil luck in the game [v Bayern]. I know this. The best thing we could do was get to this final.
“I do not think you should personalise a victory, in that case for the club to reach the final, or minimise it because you lost 2-1 in a great game in the biggest final you can get to.
“We were the better team for half-an-hour so I took a lot from that game and the result was only one piece of the information.
“I don’t need it if I come here and you say ‘he’s a Champions League winner’. It makes no difference to me. I am fine. I tried everything and we tried everything to win that game but we didn’t. Life goes on. That’s what I say as a survivor of that.”