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Jürgen Klopp: Letter to an eleven-year-old (archive)
Photo: Soeren Stache / dpa
Jürgen Klopp answered the letter from an eleven-year-old fan.
Lewis Balfe had written to the coach of Liverpool FC because he was afraid of switching to secondary school.
Last week came the answer from Klopp.
Several media outlets published the letter, including the Liverpool Echo newspaper.
"Hello Lewis, can I tell you a secret first?" Wrote Klopp in his letter, according to the newspaper.
"I get nervous too. To be completely honest, if I didn't get nervous, I would worry because if that happens I can turn the energy into something positive."
He regularly reminds his players of how important they are to him and how much he believes in them, wrote Klopp.
"I have no doubt that your family will do the same to you."
The 53-year-old advised the young Liverpool fan not to worry about bad things happening.
As a coach, he also lost several finals.
"It's not a good feeling".
With the support of family and friends, he still carried on and finally had success.
"He was overjoyed"
Milena Balfe on her son Lewis
The writer of the letter is from the English town of Maidenhead.
The local newspaper "Maidenhead Advertiser" told his mother Milena Balfe: "He was over the moon."
Lewis has always been a little scared and nervous.
The transition to school worried him.
He wrote the letter about the summer vacation.
He kept asking for an answer and she tried to dampen his expectations.
Finally, on the club's website, it says that the coach cannot answer every letter.
"I thought they'd send something signed," said Milena Balfe, according to the report.
"Instead, we got a pretty thoughtful letter."
Your son was proud.
"I hope he thinks about it in his anxious moments."
Klopp himself recently had to deal with a historic bankruptcy: his team lost 7-2 to Aston Villa.
For the first time in 57 years, Liverpool conceded seven goals.
But that shouldn't cloud Klopp's balance sheet.
He recently led Liverpool FC to their first English championship in 30 years and was most recently named Coach of the Year in England.
The Reds ended the season, which was temporarily interrupted by the corona pandemic, with 99 points - a record in the club's long history.
They also won 18 of 19 home games, also a record.
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jpz / dpa / sid