Liverpool’s Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea was manager Jurgen Klopp’s “most special trophy” after they overcame more injury adversity to win 1-0 at Wembley after extra time.
Already without 11 first-team players, they lost Ryan Gravenberch to an ankle problem after half-an-hour and finished the match with four academy players on the pitch but the youngsters held out long enough for captain Virgil van Dijk to head the 118th-minute winner.
“In more than 20 years it is easily the most special trophy I have ever won. It is absolutely exceptional,” said Klopp, who is leaving the club at the end of the season and looked emotional on the pitch at the final whistle.
“Sometimes people ask me if I’m proud of things and it’s really tricky, I wish I could feel pride more often but tonight is an overwhelming feeling.
“I was proud of everyone involved in everything here: I was proud of our people (fans) for the way they pushed us, I was proud of the staff for creating this kind of atmosphere surrounding where these boys can just do what they are best at.
“I was proud of our academy, I was proud of my coaches, I was proud of so many things. It was completely overwhelming.
“It was nothing to do with it being maybe my last game at Wembley.
“Can you create in football stories which definitely nobody will ever forget? It’s so difficult because ‘this’ happened before, ‘this’ happened before: this tonight, if you find the same story with academy players coming on against a top side and still winning it, I’ve never heard of it.
“I loved it. What we see here today is so exceptional. We might never see again. Not because I’m on the sidelines but because these things don’t happen in football.
“I got told there’s an English phrase ‘you don’t win trophies with kids’. I didn’t know that.”
Victory extended Liverpool’s own record to 10 League Cups and was the seventh major trophy he has won since arriving at the club in 2015.
His side are top of the Premier League and are one of the favourites for both the FA Cup and Europa League but Klopp has no interest in the sentimentality of his final few months.
“I couldn’t care less about my legacy, I am not here to create one,” he added.
“Nothing we’ve done in the last eight or nine years is replaceable, we couldn’t have done the same at another club. It was exactly made for this combination. It is fantastic.
“We learned so much in that time, the people (fans) learned so much. That’s the one thing – it’s not a problem if a manager leaves, if these people would leave, our supporters, that would be a problem.
“As long as they are the way they are, Liverpool Football Club will be fine and that’s the most important thing.
“From time to time you need something to really celebrate. This was so special, you saw the game and saw the circumstances, they become bigger.
“We had a ref (Chris Kavanagh) who was not up to the level of the game, that didn’t help one team or the other. There was no common sense again.
“Then getting through all things. You see tired players. I have no clue who can play on Wednesday (against Southampton in the FA Cup) because we have players on the pitch until the end of the game who had problems.”
Klopp reserved special praise for his captain, who put in a real leader’s performance to lift his first trophy since taking over from Jordan Henderson.
“From the first day coming into the club (Van Dijk) was absolutely outstanding. Thank God he is in form, top shape. I think he learned an important lesson for himself: you always can win the game,” he said.
Real Madrid and Germany midfielder Kroos to retire after Euro 2024
Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos will retire from football after representing Germany at Euro 2024.
The 34-year-old was thought likely to sign a new contract with Los Blancos, but he announced on Tuesday that he will hang up his boots after representing his country on home soil at the Euros.
Kroos has enjoyed a distinguished 10-year spell with Madrid, who he joined from Bayern Munich in 2014, winning LaLiga and the Champions League four times apiece with the Spanish giants.
He played a crucial role as Carlo Ancelotti's men regained their domestic title in 2023-24, but next week's Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund will be the final game of his club career before his Euros swansong.
He initially quit international football after the delayed Euro 2020 three years ago, only to agree to return to the fold under Julian Nagelsmann earlier this year.
In an open letter to Madrid's fans, Kroos wrote: "As I have always said, Real Madrid is and will be my last club.
"After 10 years, at the end of the season this chapter comes to an end. I will never forget this successful time! I would like to thank everyone that welcomed me with an open heart and trusted me.
"But especially I would like to thank you, dear Madridistas, for your affection and your love from the first day until the last one.
"At the same time this decision means that my career as an active footballer will end this summer after the Euro championship."
Kroos also issued a rallying cry as Madrid target a record-extending 15th European crown, adding: "I am happy and proud that in my mind I found the right timing for my decision and that I could choose it myself.
"My ambition was always to finish my career at the peak of my performance levels. From now on there is only one leading thought, la 15! Hala Madrid!"
Salah hints at Liverpool stay, pays tribute to Klopp
Mohamed Salah has hinted he will still be a Liverpool player next season while paying tribute to departed manager Jurgen Klopp.
Klopp's nine-year reign on Merseyside came to an end with Sunday's 2-0 win over Wolves, with Liverpool ending his final campaign at the helm third in the Premier League.
Arne Slot was subsequently confirmed as his successor on Monday, but doubts have been raised as to whether Salah would play under the Dutchman.
Salah's form dropped off alarmingly in the second half of the campaign and he became involved in a public bust-up with Klopp last month, heightening speculation that he could depart as he enters the final 12 months of his contract.
However, Salah seemed to rule out that prospect as he vowed to lead Liverpool to more silverware next term, after their efforts in 2023-24 only amounted to February's EFL Cup win.
"We know that trophies are what count and we will do everything possible to make that happen next season." Salah wrote in a post on X.
"Our fans deserve it and we will fight like hell."
Alongside an image of himself with Klopp, he wrote in a separate post: "It was great sharing all those trophies and experiences with you over the past seven years.
"I wish you the best of luck for the future and hope we meet again."
Salah scored 18 Premier League goals in 2023-24, making it the least prolific campaign of his seven-year stint at Anfield.
Fourteen of those goals came before he went to the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt in January, where he sustained a hamstring injury that troubled him throughout the second half of the campaign.
Sunday's victory over Wolves represented Salah's 250th Premier League appearance for Liverpool.
His overall tally of 223 Premier League goal involvements for the Reds (155 goals, 68 assists) are the second-most by any player in their first 250 appearances for a club in the competition, with Thierry Henry managing 243 for Arsenal (171 goals, 72 assists).
Sargent earns recall as Pulisc, Balogun and Adams headline USA's preliminary Copa America squad
United States coach Gregg Berhalter has named a 27-man preliminary squad ahead of the Copa America.
Josh Sargent, the Norwich City forward, has earned a recall to the USA squad for the upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Colombia, and is set to feature for his country for the first time since 2022.
With first-choice right-back Sergino Dest injured, meanwhile, Berhalter has turned to Nashville SC's Shaq Moore in defence.
Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams, Matt Turner, Weston McKennie and Brendan Aaronson are among the established names to feature.
Former Arsenal forward Folarin Balogun, who opted to represent the USA rather than England, has also made the cut, as has Coventry City's Haji Wright, who has had a strong season in England's second tier.
Berhalter explained Sargent had been called up to give him another option in attack, with Wright seen primarily as a wide option.
"Between their club form and what they've done for the national team in the past, we think it's a talented group of strikers," he said.
Giovanni Reyna, the 21-year-old Borussia Dortmund attacker who has been on loan at Nottingham Forest since January, has also been included, despite a feud between Berhalter and the playmaker's family in the wake of the World Cup.
Antonee Robinson has had another impressive season with Fulham, and has been called up alongside club-mate Tim Ream.
Former Manchester City goalkeeper Zack Steffen was a notable omission, as were MLS stars Jesus Ferreira and Jordan Morris.
"This summer presents an opportunity for us to progress and grow as a team as we continue to build towards the 2026 FIFA World Cup," Berhalter said.
"We have a talented group of players and are excited about the opportunity to compete against some of the best teams in the world."
Berhalter will cut down his squad after the friendlies, with Copa hosts USA taking on Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia in Group C.
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