"Why am I sitting here?"
"I'm just a player. There are three coaches right here, and I've told you plenty of times that I don't want to get involved in running the team. Otherwise, people will start saying I'm interfering with your decisions again!"
After Klopp announced to the fans that Krawietz and Zubizarreta would be leaving, Liverpool began recruiting new assistant coaches the very next day.
It was going to be a long process.
Anyone hoping to replace Zubizarreta and Krawietz had to be exceptional.
So Klopp immediately began the search the following day, taking advantage of the day off. There was no shortage of people eager to become an assistant coach at Liverpool. Many were highly experienced assistants, and even coaches currently working for major clubs in Europe's top five leagues wanted the chance to join Liverpool and work under Klopp.
Liverpool's results over the past few seasons had dramatically raised the club's standing.
For many coaches, working at Liverpool had become a goal in itself. Simply standing on the touchline in Liverpool coaching gear as one of the club's assistant coaches would feel like an achievement, while also giving them the chance to follow in the footsteps of Zubizarreta or Krawietz and become a head coach a few years later.
After all, once you became an assistant coach at Liverpool, far more people started paying attention to you.
Klopp had originally told Leo that he wanted some help tidying up his office, so Leo came over.
Instead, when he arrived, he found Klopp, Krawietz, and Zubizarreta sitting behind the office desk in formal attire. Across from them sat several candidates interviewing for the two assistant coach positions.
Leo, meanwhile, was wearing flip-flops. It was his day off, after all.
When Klopp told him to sit beside Zubizarreta and help them select two new assistant coaches, Leo immediately realized he had been tricked.
"If you really wanted me to help interview assistant coaches, you could've just told me. At least I would've put on a decent pair of shoes."
"Having someone in flip-flops sitting here helping choose Liverpool's new assistant coaches feels a little too casual, doesn't it?"
Klopp knew that if he had told Leo beforehand that he wanted him involved in selecting the new assistants, Leo never would have come.
Leo had always disliked getting involved in the club's management.
He didn't want to become the kind of Liverpool player who had too much influence over the club's major decisions too early in his career. He believed that could ultimately affect his career, and for now, all he wanted was to focus on doing his job as a player.
Klopp wanted Leo involved because of how important he was to Liverpool.
At the very least, Klopp wanted the two new assistant coaches to pass Leo's test.
If Leo could accept them, then most of Liverpool's other players probably could as well. Changing members of the coaching staff was no small matter.
Leo looked at the six candidates sitting across from him.
These were the final six remaining after three rounds of screening. Klopp had made the initial selections from the applications sent to the club, Zubizarreta and Krawietz had conducted the second round, and then the three coaches had gone through them again together.
Every one of the six candidates was highly qualified.
"Hello, Klopp, Zubizarreta, Krawietz, and Lin. I spent three years as an assistant coach at Chelsea, then moved to Saudi Arabia, where I worked as a head coach for a year."
"After that, I spent another year as a head coach in the Turkish Super League. Unfortunately, the results eventually showed that being a head coach wasn't right for me, so I returned to Inter Milan and worked there as an assistant coach for three years."
"Eventually, I resigned and spent some time at home resting."
"When I heard Liverpool were looking for new assistant coaches, I was extremely excited. I believe I can help Klopp lead the team, and I would also be very happy to work with outstanding players like Lin."
The first candidate, a man who looked fairly old and was at least ten years older than Zubizarreta, delivered his entire introduction in one go.
Klopp nodded but didn't even ask his name before moving on to the second candidate.
The second was an older man named Carsonham, who had spent a full ten years as an assistant coach at Stoke City.
"I spent ten years as an assistant coach at Stoke City. I know the Premier League extremely well. I know what kind of competition it is, and I know how to set up tactically against relegation candidates, lower and mid-table teams, as well as teams competing closer to the top."
"I know how to deal with different situations at different stages of the season. For example, when the campaign is nearly over and you face teams desperately fighting relegation."
"I also know how to navigate an extremely demanding Premier League schedule. I know when to push for all three points and when, depending on the fixtures, taking a single point should be the sensible minimum objective so the team can remain in the title race."
Klopp lowered his voice and exchanged a few words with Krawietz. Zubizarreta quickly joined their discussion.
Leo simply drank his coffee without showing the slightest intention of joining in.
His legs were crossed, and the flip-flop hanging from his left foot kept swinging back and forth.
Leo actually quite liked Carsonham.
"Leo, anything you want to ask Carsonham?"
After finishing their discussion, Klopp decided to let Leo ask the first question.
By then, Leo already knew Klopp had eliminated the first candidate.
Compared with Carsonham, the first man's biggest weakness was that he had changed jobs too often.
He seemed to move on roughly every three years, which suggested that, at least for now, he lacked the ability to settle at one club for the long term.
Whether that was because of him or because of the clubs themselves didn't really matter.
Someone like Krawietz or Zubizarreta, who could remain at the same club for six seasons or even longer, brought stability.
Head coaches might change frequently, but if the assistants remained, the overall coaching structure wouldn't be shaken nearly as much.
The first candidate's two consecutive spells as a head coach also made something else clear.
He still wanted to be a head coach.
The only reason he wasn't one now was that poor results had led to him being dismissed, and no club currently wanted to offer him another head coaching position.
That meant his main reason for wanting to become a Liverpool assistant was probably to follow the same path as Zubizarreta and Krawietz, using the role as a route back into head coaching later.
An assistant like that could easily interfere too much with Klopp's decisions after joining Liverpool.
Once someone had worked as a head coach, they developed the mindset of one.
That mindset was difficult to change. At certain moments, it could lead them to see things differently from the head coach, perhaps even creating conflict.
Zubizarreta reached over and slipped Leo's left flip-flop properly back onto his foot, since Leo had nearly shaken it off.
"You make this much money every day. Can't you buy yourself a better pair of flip-flops?"
Leo thought for a moment, looked Carsonham in the eyes, and spoke.
"Carsonham, imagine this."
"We're playing in the UEFA Champions League final. The opposition is extremely strong. We're three goals down with only ten minutes left, and everyone thinks we're definitely going to lose."
"At that point, I look at you, just like I used to look at Zubizarreta or Krawietz whenever we were behind."
"What would you do to help me? What would you say to me?"
Klopp looked toward Carsonham.
Leo had asked an excellent question.
If you were three goals down in a UEFA Champions League final with only ten minutes left, almost any head coach would be running out of answers.
"First, I would check with the head coach to see whether he still wanted to make any substitutions. I'd tell him what I had observed and offer my recommendations."
"Second, I would quickly run through the match again in my head. I'd think about the moments when we came close to scoring but failed, how those chances were created, and what had worked."
"I'd recall those situations as quickly as possible and tell you immediately."
"With so little time left, we can only rely on methods that have already proven capable of creating chances. That gives us the best chance of being efficient and making full use of the final ten minutes."
"Once I had finished communicating with the head coach, I would go over everything he wanted in my own head first. Once I was sure there were no problems, I'd relay those instructions to you while continuing to encourage the players on the pitch."
"I wouldn't tell everyone that we absolutely have to fight until the final second, because in that situation, words like that sound unrealistic."
"You're three goals down with ten minutes left. Even if you desperately want to fight until the end, fear and tension can still overwhelm you."
"So I would do everything possible to calm the players down."
"I'd tell them to keep going until the final whistle and not let nerves or fear make us play even worse during those last ten minutes."
"Only if we stay composed will we have any chance of creating another opportunity."
Carsonham finished his answer quickly, keeping his eyes on Leo the entire time.
Leo uncrossed his legs.
Then he patted Zubizarreta on the arm.
Zubizarreta immediately understood.
Leo approved of him.
Klopp had already made up his mind.
Carsonham was a strong candidate. He had ten years of experience at Stoke City and understood exactly what it took to compete in the Premier League.
If Liverpool wanted to keep fighting for the Premier League title, this was the kind of assistant coach they needed.
None of the remaining four candidates managed to impress Klopp enough.
Only Carsonham made the final shortlist.
Once the interviews were over, Leo shook Carsonham's hand before everyone gradually began leaving.
Klopp remained behind, looking through Carsonham's résumé.
The more he read, the more he liked him.
"If there's nothing else, I'm heading home. I was halfway through a gaming session with Rodri when you suddenly called me over. I seriously thought you wanted me to clean your office."
Leo had just started to leave when Klopp suddenly grabbed him.
"Wait."
"I've got an endorsement offer here."
"One you're definitely going to be interested in."
Leo had accepted plenty of endorsement deals before.
But an endorsement he was guaranteed to find interesting?
That was a first.
...
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