"He gave me a word of appreciation" - Portugal star reveals message ex-Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp sent him after Czechia win
Diogo Jota has revealed that he got a message from former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp after Portugal's win against Czechia in Euro 2024. The Reds attacker had a disallowed goal against Czechia and hr played a key role in helping Roberto Martinez's side secure a 2-1 comeback win.
Jota came on from the bench when Portugal were 1-0 down after Lukas Provod's 62nd-minute strike. Robin Hranac scored an own goal in the 69th minute to level the game before Francisco Conceicao netted a last-gasp winner for Portugal.
Diogo Jota thought he had scored the winner for Portgal before his goal was chalked off by a VAR review. Following the game, Jota revealed that former Liverpool manager texted him and appreciated his efforts. He said, as quoted by Liverpool World:
"He's a coach who usually doesn't miss anything and knows when it's important to talk to the players. He gave me a word of appreciation for the disallowed goal that would have had a special meaning for me.”
Diogo Jota became one of the most important players for Liverpool following his reported £40 million switch from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2020. The versatile attacker developed into one of the most lethal finishers in the Premier League under Klopp, although he had his struggles with injuries.
Jota has appeared 145 times for the Merseyside giants till date scoring 56 goals in the process while contributing with 19 assists. He only played 1723 minutes of football this season due to injuries and scored 15 goals while providing four assists.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot makes big claim regarding the rivalry between Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola
New Liverpool manager Arne Slot has compared the rivalry between his predecessor Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola to that of the iconic rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He also claimed that he watched both managers at their respective clubs over the years and learnt from them.
The Dutchman, who took over the reins from Klopp at Anfield this summer told Liverpool's official website:
"Yeah. I am 45 now and [have been] watching football for a long time and watching football a lot, and I think this has been an era where everybody looked at the Barcelona side of Xavi [Hernandez], [Andres] Iniesta and [Lionel] Messi and the rivalry there was between Real Madrid with Cristiano Ronaldo being there."
The former AZ and Feyenoord manager also claimed that the Premier League is the 'nicest league to follow' in Europe. He added:
"And I think when that came to an end, the new rivalry in European football came because of Jürgen – he managed Liverpool and Pep Guardiola, of course, managed Manchester City and I think for everyone who loves football it was a fantastic era to watch the both of them getting the best out of each other.
"Yeah, I have seen a lot of games of Liverpool, a lot of games of City as well, and when you live in Europe the Premier League is probably the nicest league to follow. So, yeah, he has done a tremendous job over here and I am really happy with that as a fan, but now as his successor he left Liverpool in the best possible way, I think. So, a very good team, the fans are very good as well, so [I am] looking forward to it."
Klopp and Guardiola have faced each other 30 times in Germany and England, with the former winning 12 times and Guardiola winning 11 times.