This summer, Steve Kerr visited the south of France and London with his family, but also Egypt, where he had not set foot since 1985! The opportunity to talk with his favorite player, local superstar Mohamed Salah, but also to talk with Jurgen Klopp, the coach of his favorite team, Liverpool.
“It was the first time I met him and talked to him. Explained the Warriors coach to Marc Stein. ” I was just a distant fan, but I always liked his coaching style and the joy he shows. It is clear that he has a strong connection with his players, but this was different. Rather than watching them from the United States and cheering them on, I actually watched the practice and we really had a really good relationship.«
It was only in 2017 that Stve Kerr became a Reds fan, but he immediately embraced the methods of the former Dortmund manager, who arrived at Liverpool in 2015.
“Manager is a much more appropriate title than coach because a lot of what we do is management”
« We share a similar vision of coaching » poursuit Steve Kerr. « He is simply someone who is impressive in his understanding of the players. It’s about putting them in a really good situation and in a good frame of mind, creating a good culture and then letting them do their thing and play freely. I feel a real connection in our way of looking at coaching and sport in general. »
Like the Warriors, Liverpool are close to the heights with an English league title in 2020, a Champions League in 2019, and a finalist spot in 2018 and 2022. For Steve Kerr, it’s more difficult in European football because the shoulder seasons are much shorter. “The importance and the difficulty of maintaining the rhythm of your team over a long season is an important subject. Compared to those guys, our summers are crazy. They don’t have that much time » Esteem Steve Kerr.
In the end, the Golden State coach judges that Jurgen Klopp, like him, are more managers than coaches. ” Manager is a much more appropriate title than coach because a lot of what we do is management. he concludes, and he takes the example of communication: There is this way of approaching difficult subjects through total frankness with the team, communication and the constant themes of joy and competition.. »
