Liverpool manager says response to the coronavirus pandemic in England and Germany ‘came from two different planets’
Jürgen Klopp says he has felt ‘like an alien’ during the pandemic
Jürgen Klopp could not be diplomatic if he tried. But for the record, let it be known that he did try. When press conferences resumed in the past few days, he was faced almost immediately with a zinger of a question about whether he ever worried the British government’s mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic might cost Liverpool their chance to win the Premier League title on the pitch.
“I am a sportsperson and I don’t want to say what I really think about the situation because it would open a Pandora’s box,” the Liverpool manager said. “I was not worried for one second the government could cost us the title because I was worried, and I am still worried, about the numbers who were dying.”
Klopp also worried that going public with his opinion on Covid-19 would lead to his earlier comments about the Merseyside derby, empty grounds and the physical condition of his players being relatively overlooked. On balance, though, he thought it worthwhile to give his opinion anyway.
“I didn’t vote for this government, that’s my excuse,” he said. “The government was the choice of other people, but the problem I had was that I was getting the news from Germany as well as from England. I have no idea of the pandemic situation in Italy or France, but I do know exactly how it is in England and Germany and an alien looking at it from outside would think we came from two different planets.
“I don’t know why we waited until 15 June to start wearing face masks in closed areas, when all the other countries were doing it five or six weeks ago. You can argue about whether it makes sense to wear them but all the countries who started doing it earlier have smaller casualty numbers than England. That’s the truth.” Continue reading