Rush The Kop’s exclusive interview with David Amoyal of GianlucaDiMarzio.com in regards to Jurgen Klopp, Mario Balotelli as he spares a Liverpool prediction for fear of jinxing.
David Amoyal manages the English page on Gianluca Di Marzio’s website, he also writes a popular weekly column on the site. David also writes the Transfer Rumor Rater column on ESPN where he rates the biggest transfer rumors of the week. David is a frequent guest on the Beyond The Pitch radio show and podcast and is a frequent guest on other shows on Sirius XM. David is the former editor in chief of Vavel USA and has covered Serie A and transfers on numerous sites around the world. You can find him on Twitter: @DavidAmoyal
Tom Bogert: In an alternate universe and a job like AC Milan or Juventus had enticed Jurgen Klopp to Italy, do you reckon his full throttle Gegenpressing would be successful in Serie A or is it not suited for Italy?
Daivd Amoyal: Klopp was Napoli’s first choice to replace Benitez. But the former Dortmund manager preferred to manage in a place where he knew the language and wanted a truly historic team. Napoli ended up hiring (Maurizio) Sarri, who is pretty much the Italian version of Klopp.
I think Klopp would have done well at Juventus because they have a great management team (Agnelli, Nedved, Marotta, Paratici) and the resources to give him a competitive squad. (Massimiliano) Allegri has done very well replacing (Antonio) Conte, a true icon at Juve, which certainly wasn’t an easy task- Klopp would have probably risen to the challenge as well
While Milan certainly could have used him, Klopp would have found it very difficult there. The Rossoneri have a president like (Silvio) Berlusconi who likes to be very involved with the coach, and while they have spent considerably last summer to acquire (Carlos) Bacca, (Alessio) Romagnoli and (Andrea) Bertolacci I still don’t think they have a squad good enough to compete for Serie A title, I see them closer in quality to say Fiorentina and Lazio than Juve, Roma, Napoli or even Inter.
Tom: Would you like to be on the receiving end of a famed Klopp hug? Or is that just a weird #LiverpoolTwitter thing we got going on right now? You’ve got to admit, they look glorious based from the facial expressions of Alberto Moreno and Adam Lallana.
David: I think coaches who are not afraid to show some personality and warmth towards their players are great for football. Klopp is certainly a great character, and it’s not surprising he had unconditional support with Dortmund fans even during a dreadful season. I’m all for having more personalities in football that take themselves less seriously and show their human side, so yes sign me up for a Klopp hug.
Tom: You live in Boston, Liverpool’s ownership group is in Boston and owns the Boston Red Sox, does that give you any slight affinity for Liverpool? Just a little?
David: I have lived in Boston the whole time John Henry has been part of the ownership group. He has done remarkable work alongside Larry Lucchino and Tom Werner (and mind you I’m a Yankees fan so I tend to hate the Red Sox), they have kept the team in historic Fenway Park which was far from a given when they bought the team. Henry, Werner and Lucchino renovated Fenway Park, and it now looks great and hosts numerous events including “soccer”, American football and hockey matches as well as numerous concerts.
The Red Sox have also had great success on the field. Under Henry’s ownership they won their first World Series since 1918 in 2004 and then won two more titles. Many older folks in Boston thought they would die without seeing the Red Sox win a title, what Henry accomplished cannot be understated.
The Red Sox were one the teams who relied on statistics the most before this became the norm in baseball. They took a very analytical approach to player evaluations that really benefited for a long time, but now they are going with a more old school approach after some bad signings.
Tom: Gonzalo Higuain has long been linked with Liverpool. Would he fit in England and in Klopp’s tactics?
David: I’ve been saying for months that Higuain is the best player in Serie A, while many disagreed at first now it’s the consensus (mind you I’m wrong a ton so please allow me to brag a bit here). Higuain brings so much more to a team than just goals, he sets his teammates up and while his body language at times look bad, his fire and desire on the pitch can be contagious. Higuain is in the conversation for best pure center forward in the world at the moment so I have no doubt he would do well at Liverpool or anywhere.
Higuain is very happy at Napoli, new coach Sarri has re-energized him and the team is a legitimate contender for the Serie A title- I certainly don’t see him leaving in January and will be tough to get him in summer if Napoli makes it back to the Champions league. While I can see why he has earned the reputation of being a choker in big moments, he’s a tremendous player that would fit in well anywhere.
Tom: Other than Higuain, who are some players that come to mind who are realistic purchases for Liverpool that’d come in straight away and improve the team?
David: I think Higuain’s teammates (Kalidou) Koulibaly and Allan would be great additions to Liverpool. This season Koulibaly became one of the best center backs in Serie A and he has the physical tools to do well in the Premier League (not surprisingly has been linked to English clubs in the past even when he wasn’t playing as well as now)
Allan is one of the best defensive midfielders in Serie A. He compliments Jorginho and (Marek) Hamsik (two other players who would do well at Liverpool) perfectly and so far he has been a former Udinese player who fit in well on a bigger club, which has not always been the case.
Since Liverpool needs a goalie, I would keep a close eye on Genoa’s (Mattia) Perin (he’s one of Buffon’s backups on Italian national team) and Atalanta’s (Marco) Sportiello. Both are young keepers who have done very well in Serie A for multiple seasons now. I also could see Liverpool pursuing Diego Lopez who lost his starting job at AC Milan after Donnarumma’s explosion.
Tom: Let’s talk Liverpool flops to tamper excitement with the thoughts of those players at Liverpool. What went wrong for Alberto Aquilani and Mario Balotelli at Liverpool, other than, you know, everything?
David: Aquilani is a very good player tactically and he’s an excellent passer but he’s simply too fragile for Serie A, never mind the Premier League which is even more physical. I rate Aquilani but he needs to be in right situation.
When I think of Balotelli I think of what Robert De Niro’s character told his son Calogero in the movie “Bronx Tale”- “The saddest thing in life is wasted talent”. Balotelli can be such a tremendous player, his first half season at Milan was simply sensational and everyone remembers what he did against Germany in the last Euro. Unfortunately those are the exceptions with him.
I’ll share a funny story with your readers. At time Balotelli signed with Liverpool I was in fairly consistent contact with someone on Rodgers’ staff, when Mario arrived in England he told me how impressed he was with his personality and that he was surprised with how charming Mario was. I told him that while that was great to hear I had a feeling he would change his tune in a few months- trust me I was hoping to be wrong because I really do like Balotelli.
Tom: Going the other way for transfers, what current Liverpool players would excel in Italy?
David: I’m sure many Inter fans regret the (Philippe) Coutinho sale, although that move allowed them to sign Kovacic. Selling Kovacic to Real Madrid for 30 million euro then allowed Inter to balance the book after all their good purchases (Murillo, Miranda etc) from the summer. But I still would like to see Coutinho play in Italy again.
Tom: Other than the beautiful game, what’s your favorite sport to watch? What Liverpool player do you think looks like he’d be the best at that sport?
David: I love the NBA but not sure which Liverpool player would do well at basketball- maybe your readers can tweet me the answer.
Tom: Look into your crystal ball: how does Liverpool’s season end?
David: Since I have strong affection for Liverpool supporters, the first EPL fan base to fully embrace what we do on Di Marzio’s English page, I will spare you a prediction. As those who have followed me for awhile on Twitter I have a reputation for jinxing teams. I do wish Liverpool and their fans the best during this holidays and for rest of the season.