Jurgen Klopp showed his true feelings towards Virgil van Dijk by taking the Netherlands captain's jersey to his first post-match press conference in charge of Germany. Klopp began his tenure as Germany boss with an all-action 1-1 draw against their Dutch rivals on Thursday night.
Match details and former Reds stars
The manager saw his side concede an early headed goal to his former Liverpool skipper Van Dijk early on, only for the goal to be ruled out due to a foul by Brian Brobbey on Marc-Andre Ter Stegen. Germany then took the lead before half-time thanks to Felix Nmecha.
But Klopp was denied his first win by another of his former Reds stars, forward Cody Gakpo, who scored a stunning stoppage time volley to leave both sides satisfied with a draw. The Netherlands were the better team on the night and there were clear signs that Klopp's Germany side is a work in progress, having disappointed at major tournaments for a decade.
Showing respect and sportsmanship
That did not stop the 59-year-old from showing true sportsmanship, especially by stopping to chat with both Van Dijk and Gakpo post match. He was even handed the towering defender's match-worn shirt, which he took into his press conference an hour after the final whistle, resting it on the back of his chair - a sign of his huge respect for Van Dijk.
The pair, who enjoyed huge success at Anfield together, had shared a warm pre-match hug on the pitch. And, during one of his mandatory post-match TV interviews, a reporter asked Klopp: "Mr Klopp, congratulations on your debut. What's in your hand?" The manager responded: "Virgil's very wet shirt."
Defending Van Dijk
He had publicly defended Van Dijk prior to the match after the Liverpool captain's row with the Dutch media during his own press conference. Van Dijk clashed with reporters as the fallout from the Netherlands' World Cup elimination to Morocco continued.
In a spiky press conference, the defender said it was "utter nonsense" he had been involved in any tactical shifts which led to their last-16 exit. Klopp heard about the feisty exchange and felt Van Dijk had been unfairly singled out for criticism.
He said: "I think you yourselves know that you are quite critical. Virgil should tell you that. Our German journalists are pretty good too [at being critical], but you might not even be that much worse. I haven't really followed the Dutch press, but I assume you weren't happy with the elimination. Then the captain gets more criticism too. Virgil has had a lot of great moments in his career and also a few lesser ones. Because he is not only physically present, but normally also because of his performances, I can imagine that he gets singled out a bit."
