There is no middle ground for Liverpool on Jurgen Klopp’s farewell tour, which arrives at Wembley on Sunday.
History will record that they were either invigorated by the emotional impact of his long farewell or left helpless by it.
Nuance has taken time off from football for a much longer period of time than Klopp plans to take next season and possibly beyond. Forget the injuries that have wreaked havoc on his squad as they prepare for the Carabao Cup final, the £500m Chelsea squad or the considerable talents of title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal.
When Klopp spoke before the match about writing the final chapters of his reign, writers covering this moment in Anfield history described the day he announced his departure as a turning point. Once you win a trophy or two, your decision to inform the world will be the ultimate motivational lesson. If he fails, skeptics will argue Liverpool are asking for it too much for their legendary coach.
Andrew Robertson understands this, which is why he wants to put aside the emotional fallout from Klopp’s imminent departure and focus on the cold, hard reality of collecting trophies.
“We have to use it in two ways,” says the Scotland captain. “While fans can be emotional, we have to park it to some extent.
“But we also want to send him off. We know that the coach who took this club to where it belongs will leave in the summer and we want him to leave with a big farewell.
“It gives us extra motivation. But we can’t get caught up in the emotions of it all. We’ve done really well since the announcement. We’re all obsessed with it.”
“The last game of the season will be emotional for the manager, his team and all the fans. But as players we still have work to do.”
It seems everyone is caught up in the story of Klopp’s last dance. How else to explain Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino’s outlandish suggestions that referees should be careful not to feel like guests at Klopp’s leaving party?
Liverpool’s biggest problem on Sunday was the number of VIPs who did not attend the first farewell party.
Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dominik Szoboszlai, Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota were due to start at Wembley. Instead Klopp received a series of lackluster RSVPs courtesy of the medical department.
He is one of the few members of Klopp’s leadership group still standing, making Robertson’s recent comeback from a dislocated shoulder particularly timely. When he looks around the locker room on Sunday afternoon, he’ll see 20-year-old rookies turning into veterans.
“Harvey [Elliott] He made his 100th appearance for the club on Wednesday and has suddenly become one of the most experienced players!” says Robertson.
“We lost many players, but we must continue with the excitement of the young people.”
The positive side of this is that Liverpool can benefit from the fearlessness of youth. No one better exemplifies the Northern Ireland star’s meteoric rise from promising team player to Kop idol than Conor Bradley.
“He’s going to have an incredible career,” Robertson says. “Conor has shown he can do it at the highest level. There’s a lot of hype around him but now it looks like he can do it every week.
“I tell him before every game and during training: It’s great to be the new kid on the block, but with that comes expectation. And he’s handled it incredibly well.
“His consistency so far has been first class and it needs to continue like that. That’s what makes you a really good player. That’s what I’m trying to improve with him because the talent he has, the ability to play football and his athleticism is obvious.
“He’s got it all. He’s a hard worker. He’s a good lad. He listens to all the other lads and takes things in his stride. He’s always working hard in the gym and on the training field.”
Klopp labeled Liverpool 2.0 last summer. Even he did not expect that a team challenging for the championship would emerge in such a short time. Now they are here and on the brink of another national cup, only victory can feed the romantics waiting for an inspiring end to Klopp’s book.
“Winning won’t ease the pressure” [giving Klopp the perfect departure] because when you play for this club there is pressure to win every tournament,” says Robertson.
“You feel it from the day you signed. “Liverpool fans expect there to be no injuries or injuries.”