Liverpool and Tottenham meet on Sunday when the high press will be evident in what is likely to be an engaging ninth meeting of the men in the dugout
English football has, of course, learned before about the dangers of hailing golden ages before they’ve hatched, but with four Premier League clubs in the last eight of the Champions League and a youthful national side playing with rare verve, it can reasonably be acknowledged that there is a profound sense of positivity and promise about the game. At least at the top end. And if you only look at what’s happening on the pitch. And you ignore the looming iceberg of Brexit.
A huge part of the reason for that is the two managers who will meet at Anfield on Sunday, Jürgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino, and not only because they have led their respective sides to European quarter-finals. It’s not just the players they have produced for the national side – four of Gareth Southgate’s squad for the wins over the Czech Republic and Montenegro play for Pochettino and three used to, while two play for Klopp. But for injuries, there would have been another two from Pochettino’s stable and one from Klopp’s, and that’s without counting Nathaniel Clyne and Adam Lallana who are now on the periphery but have played for both – it’s the way the managerial pair have changed the wider culture.
Related: Firmino and Wijnaldum seal Liverpool win as Spurs pay price for Vorm errors
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