• Victory in manager’s 100th European game will put side through• Napoli arrive under a cloud after a falling-out behind the scenesJürgen Klopp remembers the first time: 14 July 2005. He had just turned 38 when he encountered Armenia’s Mika Ashtarak and felt an excitement that has not dimmed in the intervening 14 years. The joy of European football. Against Napoli on Wednesday Klopp reaches the managerial milestone of 100 European games and although the stakes and expectations at
Liverpool are far greater, that Uefa Cup qualifier with Mainz will always have a special place in his career.
“We played at home against [Mika] Ashtarak – that was my first one,” the Liverpool manager recalled. Klopp tends not to dwell on the past but was happy to make an exception before his European century. His debut with Mainz brought a 4-0 victory and a brief Uefa Cup foray that was ended by the eventual winners, Sevilla. It was also a fundamental part of his development into a Champions League-winning coach who, with another Anfield victory over Carlo Ancelotti’s team, would lead Liverpool into the knockout phase with a game to spare.