RB Leipzig manager Marco Rose lauds old boss Jurgen Klopp

Jurgen Klopp will not be at the Red Bull Arena on Wednesday night but he will loom large over the Champions League clash between RB Leipzig and his former club Liverpool.

Since this month's surprise announcement that Klopp, 57, will start work as Red Bull’s head of global soccer from January, there has been fascination as to what his role will mean for clubs like Leipzig that come under the organisation’s umbrella.

Leipzig coach Marco Rose knows Klopp better than most, having spent six seasons playing for him at Mainz, and he learned a huge amount from his old boss, both as a player and now a coach.

"He always brought a lot of energy into our team," Rose said through a translator. "Maybe we would be feeling weak but he came in and gave us the confidence, the power to play the next match and to believe in yourself, to believe that every situation can be turned around.

"As a coach, you can learn a lot from him. We might not always have been of the same opinion, but how he leads a group is unique, his honesty. Then it is especially about defending that I learned from him a lot.

"He is a great personality and a great person. I loved working together with him and I’m happy that we’ll work together again."

The pair have maintained a close relationship for many years, but with Klopp taking a break in Mallorca before starting his new job, Rose has not been bothering him for tips on beating Liverpool.

New Reds boss Arne Slot has tweaked a number of things, not least defensively, but Rose still sees his old coach’s fingertips all over this Liverpool side.

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