Ziege backs Klopp as world´s best coach ahead of Guardiola, Pochettino

Christian Ziege believes Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp can rightly be considered the best coach in world football.

Klopp led Liverpool to their sixth European Cup last season, as they beat Tottenham 2-0 in the Champions League final in Madrid.

Their success in Europe came on the back of a 3-1 defeat in the showpiece event in 2017-18, while Klopp’s side also finished just one point behind Premier League champions Manchester City last term.

Former Tottenham defender Ziege stressed Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino, along with Bayern Munich coach Niko Kovac, should all be considered, though he places Klopp just above the pack.

“I think you have to be careful with that. To rate the “Best coach in the world” you have to count in all coaches, even the ones working in low-class leagues,” former Bayern Munich and Liverpool defender Ziege told Omnisport.

“The conditions that Klopp, Guardiola, Pochettino or [Bayern coach] Niko Kovac are having, many coaches don’t. So you need to be careful with that title.

“If you take those, who everybody talks about, there is no one who did better than Klopp. I’m a big fan of his because he started at Mainz and finished fourth three times in a row in the second division.

B O S S

Jürgen Klopp has won #TheBest FIFA Men’s Coach award for 2019 pic.twitter.com/6pG8ybHwBs

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) September 23, 2019

“He made Mainz a club who finally got promoted and developed to an incredible club. Then he went to Dortmund. He took this club to German champions and a Champions League title candidate. He elevated this club to a level which they are still today.

“He went to Liverpool, the club who has been talking about becoming Premier League champions or being more successful for years and has been achieving the same there.

“He won the Champions League and finished second in the league with 97 points, which is mayhem. Now he’s leading the league again, even though it is still early in the campaign. This proves to me that he has to be an exceptional coach, because all of this can’t happen by accident.”

Despite Liverpool’s perfect start to the Premier League season, though, Ziege insists the Reds cannot yet be considered favourites to clinch the title.

“They have to face City twice, United twice, Spurs twice, Arsenal once and Chelsea once,” he added.

“You can always lose those games and the most difficult part is to win against those teams that are in the bottom of the table. However, the other teams need to overcome the same difficulties in order to catch Liverpool.

“[The start] boosts your confidence, but it can all be gone within two games. It is way to early for a decision, much can happen.”