Alex Manninger gave an emotional final interview just days before his sudden death at the age of 48, recalling the phone call from Jurgen Klopp that convinced him to end his career at Liverpool. The Austrian goalkeeper died on Thursday after his car was struck by a train in Salzburg.
In the interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Manninger revealed how Klopp persuaded him to join Liverpool after he impressed against the German's Borussia Dortmund side while playing for Augsburg. 'It all started with a phone call,' he said. 'Jurgen knew everything about me. He said: “I want that goalkeeper there. That day you saved everything against us. You have to do it for me, too.”'
Manninger served as back-up to Simon Mignolet at Anfield but never made a competitive appearance. However, he described his farewell in front of the Kop as 'an amazing feeling'. 'I never actually played, I was 40, but leaving football and saying goodbye to the fans in front of the Kop was an amazing feeling,' he added.
The former Arsenal goalkeeper was part of Arsene Wenger's first double-winning side in 1998, winning the Premier League and FA Cup. He spoke fondly of his time at Highbury, saying: 'It still excites me just thinking about it. I was 20 years old, I was a kid. Wenger wanted to bring an international dimension to the club and focus on youngsters, I was one of them.' He added: 'Despite my age, I felt calm in goal. I had a monster like Tony Adams in front of me.'
Manninger admitted his only regret was leaving Arsenal too soon. 'I only have one regret: Leaving too soon. But you know, I wanted to play,' he said. The Austrian also played for Fiorentina, Torino, Bologna, Siena, Juventus, Red Bull Salzburg and Augsburg before retiring at Liverpool.
