"Hello, everyone. I'm Jürgen Klopp."
Klopp turned on the camera. Krawietz and Zubizarreta were seated beside him. It was the first time Klopp's three-man coaching team had recorded a video like this on their own.
Klopp wasn't wearing a cap, and for once, his hair was neatly combed. Krawietz and Zubizarreta were both dressed in suits.
Neither of them had ever looked this serious during a match. Even when Liverpool had been trailing in a UEFA Champions League final, Zubizarreta had never looked as solemn as he did today.
Because Klopp was about to make an announcement.
"The camera's on, right? Krawietz, go check whether it's pointed at us properly."
Krawietz hurried behind the camera, made sure everything was set up correctly, then returned to sit beside Klopp.
The three of them sat close together, just as they had for countless matches over the years. On the bench, they had always sat shoulder to shoulder like this.
"I'm Jürgen Klopp, head coach of Liverpool. Today, together with my two assistant coaches, I want to announce something to everyone."
"At the end of this season, my assistant coach Krawietz will officially take charge of a Championship club as their head coach for next season. I can't reveal which club it is yet."
"At the same time, our assistant coach Zubizarreta will be heading to Saudi Arabia to take over Al Hilal as their new head coach!"
After saying that, Klopp suddenly forgot what he had planned to say next.
Krawietz straightened up and looked into the camera.
He remembered how, three or four seasons earlier, another club had tried to lure him away from Liverpool to become their assistant coach. He had turned them down.
But this time, what awaited both men was the chance to become a head coach.
No assistant coach wanted to remain an assistant forever. Krawietz had always dreamed of becoming the head coach of his own team, just like Klopp, and truly putting his coaching ability to the test.
Zubizarreta had also spent years building up his experience and ability for the day when he could finally take charge of a team himself.
And now, their opportunities had arrived.
A Championship club with an excellent record and a real chance of earning promotion to the Premier League next season had already approached Krawietz.
If they secured promotion, they wanted Krawietz to lead the team and fight to keep them in the Premier League the following season. They had tremendous faith in him.
Al Hilal, meanwhile, wanted to establish themselves as a dominant force both in the Saudi league and in continental competition. They were willing to give Zubizarreta a substantial transfer budget as long as he agreed to become their head coach.
Krawietz had spent six full seasons at Liverpool. Zubizarreta had been there for five. Together with Klopp, the two of them had won countless trophies with the club.
When you spend years as part of a championship-winning team, people stop looking only at the head coach.
Klopp had also made a point of publicly acknowledging Krawietz and Zubizarreta's contributions whenever he spoke to the media. Because of that, plenty of clubs had been keeping an eye on Liverpool's two assistant coaches for a long time.
Throughout football history, many assistant coaches had gained enough experience to become head coaches themselves and gone on to succeed.
Perhaps Krawietz and Zubizarreta would become the next Klopp.
Perhaps they might even become better head coaches than Klopp himself.
Klopp knew that once they had the chance to become head coaches, he could not stand in their way.
Krawietz and Zubizarreta deserved the chance to realize their dreams.
Klopp hated the thought of losing them, and he knew plenty of Liverpool players and supporters would feel the same way.
That was why he had decided to record this video and tell everyone himself.
Krawietz and Zubizarreta were leaving Liverpool.
Zubizarreta still looked serious. He wasn't even sure whether he should smile.
The moment he thought about Leo seeing this video, he found that he couldn't.
Zubizarreta didn't want to leave Liverpool.
More than anyone else, he hated the thought of leaving Leo.
Compared with Klopp and Krawietz, Zubizarreta also spent a lot of time talking with Leo when they were with the national team. The two were especially close, and Zubizarreta had enjoyed every single day they worked together.
But once he left for Saudi Arabia, he might only get the chance to see Leo again during the major international tournaments that came around every four years.
"Leo, I don't want to leave Liverpool. More than that, I don't want to leave you."
"Because I know that no matter which team I become head coach of, I'll want to sign you."
"Over all these seasons, before every match, no matter who we were facing, I always dared to say Liverpool would win. Whether we actually won or not didn't matter."
"Before every match, I believed we would win. And after every match, even if we lost, I still believed we would beat them the next time."
"That was because Liverpool had you."
Zubizarreta suddenly found it difficult to look straight into the camera.
It almost felt as if Leo were standing on the other side of the lens, looking back at him and asking him not to go.
Both Zubizarreta and Krawietz knew that if Leo came to them right now and asked them not to leave, there was a real chance they would choose to stay at Liverpool as assistant coaches simply because of him.
"But becoming a head coach was the reason I started working toward my coaching licenses in the first place. It was my dream from the moment I became a coach."
"I want to become a head coach. A truly great head coach."
"I want to lead a team to trophies and experience the joy that every match brings!"
"When I think back on all the matches we've been through together, every time I watched you play, it felt like I was out there playing myself!"
"You're that good. You're irreplaceable."
"Over the past few seasons, one first-team player after another has left Liverpool. What makes me feel fortunate is that you're still here."
Klopp put his arms around Krawietz and Zubizarreta.
In the past, whenever Liverpool scored, the three of them had always loved throwing their arms around one another in celebration.
This time, though, Klopp held on especially tightly.
Because he knew that in the future, when he celebrated on the bench, Krawietz and Zubizarreta would no longer be sitting beside him.
"Let me introduce these two properly one more time."
"First, the coach sitting on my left, Krawietz. He's been with me ever since Dortmund."
"I promise every supporter that he will become an outstanding head coach."
"You have no idea how good he is at tactical analysis. You have no idea how thoroughly he can break down a single opposition player."
"And the man sitting on my right is Zubizarreta."
"He has developed countless defensive systems, many of which have already been studied and adopted by other teams. Some of them are defensive systems we stopped using two or three seasons ago, yet those teams are still using them today."
"I've always wanted to say this. If a team has Krawietz's attacking tactics and Zubizarreta's defensive tactics, then that team can become UEFA Champions League champions."
"That's why we've been able to keep winning the UEFA Champions League over all these seasons!"
Krawietz and Zubizarreta wrapped their arms around Klopp in return.
Facing the camera, the two talked about everything Klopp had done for them over the years, as well as his extraordinary tactical ability.
Klopp might have made the two of them sound exceptional, but both men knew that the main reason they had improved so quickly over the past few seasons was because they had been learning at Klopp's side all along.
Finally, Klopp began recruiting Liverpool's next two assistant coaches.
"So now, I'm officially looking for two new assistant coaches!"
"The requirement is simple. If you think you can replace Krawietz and Zubizarreta, send your name to Liverpool FC's official email."
A few minutes later, Liverpool posted Klopp's video.
At first, many Liverpool supporters thought it had to be some kind of prank.
But when they reached the end and saw Klopp openly recruiting replacements, they finally realized that Krawietz and Zubizarreta really were leaving.
The assistant coaches who had been with Liverpool's supporters for six seasons, and who had spent six full seasons alongside Leo, had finally reached the moment when they would become head coaches themselves.
Leo still sent Zubizarreta a message, then sent another one to Krawietz.
At first, Zubizarreta was afraid to open Leo's message.
But after thinking about it, he realized Leo probably wouldn't ask him to stay.
Leo would probably encourage him to become a head coach.
So Zubizarreta opened the message.
"Two seasons ago, I already thought you'd become a head coach. Al Hilal is a good club. It's a great place to take your first step as a head coach."
"Once you get there, make sure you give the teams Firmino and Fabinho play for a proper beating. Wait, no. Fabinho got lucky again and ended up becoming your player!"
"Anyway, Zubizarreta, I've always told you that I believe in you, and I still do."
"Since you're going to become a head coach, don't come running back to be Klopp's assistant again the moment things get too difficult."
"Be a proper head coach, and stay one for good."
"Work toward the day when you can lead a team against Liverpool, against me."
"I want you to tear into me at the pre-match press conference."
"I want you to use every defensive tactic you have against me."
Zubizarreta was still smiling as he read the message.
Then another message from Leo arrived.
"And then I'll use everything I have to try to score at least six goals against you, because I'm going to lose sleep again tonight."
...
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