John Henry Explains ‘Most Exciting Phone Call’ He Has Ever Received At Liverpool

FSG Chief John Henry Explains ‘Most Exciting Phone Call’ He Has Ever Received At Liverpool.

John W Henry has detailed the first conversation Fenway Sports Group held over their pursuit of Jurgen Klopp, describing it as “one of the most exciting phone calls” he’s ever received.

After establishing himself as one of the most highly-rated coaches on the continent Liverpool owners FSG were keen to speak to Klopp when they sacked manager Brendan Rodgers in October 2015.

Klopp eventually took charge with the Reds languishing in midtable in the Premier League and immediately set about restoring the club to former glories.

After reaching League Cup and Europa League finals inside his first season, Klopp then qualified for the Champions League in 2017 before eventually winning football’s biggest club competition in June last year.

The German followed that up with a UEFA Super Cup and Liverpool’s first-ever Club World Cup in December last year before ending a 30-year wait for a domestic title in June.

Klopp ‘s initial conversations with Liverpool ‘s owners FSG took place in New York, in the offices of Manhattan law firm Shearman and Sterling and Henry has described how delighted he was when he first heard the manager was open to discussing terms.

In a BBC documentary titled ‘Liverpool FC: The 30 Year Wait’, Henry explains when he first became aware of Klopp’s tactical acumen as Borussia Dortmund boss and how pleased he was to be able to lure the coach to Anfield.

“I first found out about Jurgen when I was still really a student of the game and thinking that is the type of football I want to play,” Henry says. “I think they called it the ‘heavy-metal football’.

“[FSG president] Mike Gordon called me one day and said: ‘we’re going to have a chance to meet with Jurgen in New York.’

“To me that was one of the most exciting phone calls I’ve gotten during the ten years that we have been with the club.

“He’s a large man with a large heart and an incredible passion for doing things the right way.

“The Premier League is the most difficult league in the world to win and the most difficult challenge that I have ever faced.”

In the 90-minute documentary, which airs on Sunday evening, Henry also talks about the disappointment of the 2018 Champions League when Liverpool were beaten 3-1 by Real Madrid.

A Gareth Bale wondergoal either side of mistakes from Loris Karius cost the Reds in their first European Cup final for 11 years and the American revealed how Klopp helped lift spirits in the aftermath of the defeat to the Spanish giants in Kiev.

He added: “It’s so hard to get to that point [of a Champions League final] and if you can’t win the final, particularly in the way we lost it, that was hard.

“But I remember Jurgen saying at the time that we would be back. We would be back And [he would be] damned if weren’t.”