Clash of Germans as Liverpool, Leipzig clash in C/League

 

Liverpool’s Champions League clash with RB Leipzig will be a battle of two German managers with very different approaches to football.

The Reds will look to turn their fortunes around with a round-of-16 first-leg win against the Bundesliga side.

But the pressure is on manager Jurgen Klopp, who admitted that the Premier League champions could not defend their title against Manchester City.

While the on-pitch action is expected to be high-octane, it will be the battle of managerial minds that intrigues most.

This fixture will mark the first time the Klopp has faced Nagelsmann since seeing off his Hoffenheim side in two-legged qualification on the Reds’ way to the 2017/18 Champions League final

One of the only facts that the managers have in common is that they were both born in southern Germany.

Klopp grew up in Stuggart while Nagelsmann was born further east in the town of Landsberg am Lech, 124m away – the same as walking between Old Trafford and Anfield four times.

Born 20 years apart, they had different starts of their managerial careers.

The Liverpool boss moved to west Germany after getting an opportunity with Mainz, spending all but one season of his 340-game career there.

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While Nagelsmann decided to stay local, playing for Augsburg and 1860 Munich’s youth team.

And it was in the U17s side, which he captained, that the 33-year-old picked up the knee injury in 2007 that put him out of action.

In that same year, Klopp was about to play out his last campaign as Mainz manager, having retired in 2001 with the 2. Bundesliga and taken the helm.