Former Lviv Karpaty player Mykhailo Kopolovets recalled Jurgen Klopp's Borussia Dortmund match in the Europa League and told why he considers the German to be one of the best coaches in the world.
- Think of the Karpaty vs Borussia game. It was the most memorable match for the Lions. You scored a goal for Jurgen Klopp's team. What were your emotions?
- From the very beginning, Klopp seemed to me a very charismatic person. When the match ended, he immediately went to congratulate everyone. Although, the match was difficult for them and there were many mistakes. He even told me that I played well. He's a very bright coach, he's really cool. I am very pleased that I managed to play against such a coach during my career. He wasn't like this back then, but he was cool too. He is very energetic, knows how to set up players. He is one of those coaches whom the players love very much.
- What interested or surprised you about Klopp back then? What was he like?
- He had a great team. We were losing 0-2 at first, then winning 3-2, and I realised that the opponent could add to the lead at any time. It was clear that Borussia's players were much better than ours. They were constantly switching on when it was needed, their thinking was better, their speed was faster. This is a different level.
But I'm glad that no one scored three goals against them in the German league that season. Nobody. And we managed it. They didn't concede many goals because their defence was very strong. Hummels, Subotic - they were at the start of their careers. Klopp didn't surprise me much then, because I didn't know him at the time. But I saw that he was a young, energetic coach and I saw how he managed the team. There are coaches who can say something to someone after the game. But he was very supportive of the players and did not do that. Even if a player failed, Klopp protected him as much as possible. Today he is one of the strongest coaches in the world.
- At the time, could you imagine that Klopp would later win the Europa League, the Champions League and become a popular coach?
- Well, we didn't think about that at the time. And we could not even imagine that Jürgen Klopp would be one of the three strongest coaches in the world today. He is a very talented man. There are even photos of us running when Kozhanov scored, with everyone around him. Back then, we were so young and Klopp was completely different. But you can imagine how a coaching career eats away at people. How many games has he played, what's his rhythm? He needs to take a break for a while, because he understands that if he keeps working at this pace, he will simply burn out.
When the team plays poorly, you have to think about why. The coach has to decide who can play and who can replace an injured player. There are a lot of away games, a lot of tournaments. It's just an unrealistic pace of life and I think not everyone can withstand it. Especially since he always gives results. Everyone is used to it. Football in England has now reached such a level that every little thing is important. A ball boy who serves the ball, they even start to cooperate with them. Football has grown a lot, and at a level like Klopp's, there are no longer simple things.
- When Mudryk made his debut for Chelsea last season against Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp had already played 1,000 matches in his coaching career.
- Can you imagine the excitement? Look how he looks and how he has aged. It is clear that time has passed. But such constant stress brings a person to this state. You want to play better all the time. Any coach worries about the result. Just look at Jose Mourinho. He just turned white, completely grey. But coaches are always sad, irritated if the team doesn't play the way they want. It's a very hard job.
- You scored in Karpaty's 3-4 win over Borussia Dortmund. It's been almost 14 years since then. Can you say that you are proud to have scored a goal for Jurgen Klopp's team?
- Of course I am. "Borussia Dortmund won the German championship at the time and few people could score against them in the Bundesliga. Götze, Lewandowski, Schmelzer, Barrios, Blaszczikowski... The team there was unbelievably good. I don't regret that we lost then. We played good football, open. They scored on us, we scored on them. The fans saw seven goals. We were 0-2 down and then we scored three goals against Borussia Dortmund, which was the strongest team in Germany. This is history.
For those who were at that match, I believe that the game will forever remain in their memory and hearts. I'm glad I took part in it. Galatasaray can also be included here. Because these are the most significant and coolest matches in my career. Yes, Klopp had a lot of such matches. But this is a huge success for us.
Nazariy SHMIGIL