Two Men, One Trophy: Pochettino and Klopp Prepare to Face Off for Europe's Biggest Prize

4 years ago on the 24^th May, as Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool were thrashed 6-1 by Stoke in Steven Gerrard’s last game for the Reds, and Tottenham Hotspur scraped to a 1-0 win at Everton with academy product Harry Kane scoring the only goal, a Champions League final for either side would have seemed an eternity away. When Peter Crouch nodded in the 6^th in the 87^th minute, much to the delight of the jubilant Stoke supporters who could hardly believe what they were seeing, Liverpool fans could be forgiven for thinking that the future was bleak with another year of Europa League football on the horizon and only a single League Cup to show for the 10 years that had passed since that night in Istanbul. For Tottenham, led by the unproven Mauricio Pochettino whose CV included being sacked mid-season by Espanyol and a mid-table finish with Southampton, the next few years will have also looked hazardous as a club who had prided itself on competing with the big boys on a fraction of the budget now found itself back in Europe’s 2^nd tier competition, despite having spent over £100m following the departure of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid.

Mame Biram Diouf celebrates as Liverpool lose 6-1 to Stoke in May 2015

Fast forward to 2019, and the dark days of May 2015 are in the distant memory of the thousands of fans who are flocking to Madrid this weekend, preparing to watch their side in a Champions League final for the first time since 2018 if they’re a Red, and the first time ever if they pulled the short straw and are an avid follower of the mighty Spurs. The Anfield and White Hart Lane trophy cabinets remain barren but Pochettino, now heralded as one of the best managers in world football, and Jurgen Klopp, who replaced Rodgers 5 months after the Stoke hammering and is best known for hugging his players, have managed to instill a sense of direction and hope in their respective clubs. It has been far from straightforward, with Klopp finishing 8^th in his first season and Pochettino not being able to go a day without being told he is a failure unless he wins the Carabao Cup, but the transformation of both squads is startling on the face of it and borderline miraculous when you compare the starting XI’s of 4 years ago with the current ones. Liverpool have swapped a back four of Alberto Moreno, Martin Skrtel, Mamadou Sakho and Emre Can for quite possibly the best defence in Europe, with Virgil Van Dijk the rock in a defensive line that includes Scotland captain Andy Robertson and home-grown wonder kid Trent Alexander-Arnold. Christian Eriksen is still Spurs’ No.10, but has improved immeasurably over the last few seasons, and is now flanked by the electric Son Heung-Min and Dele Alli, the best thing to have ever come out of Milton Keynes.

Dele Alli is one of many players who have excelled for Spurs under Pochettino

If the 2017-18 season was a breakthrough year for Klopp as he led his side to a shock Champions League final where they were then undone by Real Madrid, then 2018-19 has been the year when Liverpool have fully come of age, losing just once in a league campaign that unfortunately broke the wrong kind of records, as the Reds’ 97 points was enough to be crowned champions in 25 of the previous 26 seasons, but not enough to topple the unrelenting Manchester City. The crowning moment so far however, was the historic 4-0 comeback against Barcelona, as Messi and Co melted in the Anfield cauldron and bottled a 3 goal aggregate lead, with Divock Origi proving to be the unlikeliest of heros. Liverpool have now got the priceless experience that Spurs lack having reached the final last year, but must now deal with a different kind of pressure as they head to Madrid as favourites having spent big in the summer and beating Spurs home and away in the league.

Pochettino meanwhile, will be perfectly content with being the underdog having been branded as such by the media ever since Spurs found themselves with just 1 point after 3 group stage games and 1-0 down at home to PSV in the 75^th minute of a must-win game. Captain Harry Kane (remember him) turned it around at Wembley as his 2 late goals secured a vital win, and Spurs went on to defy the odds on several more occasions as late goals against Inter Milan and Barcelona secured qualification from the group, a bonkers quarter-final tie against Man City ended 4-4 on aggregate with the winning goal coming off Fernando Llorente’s hip, and Lucas Moura sent Spurs to the final in the most dramatic fashion as Tottenham overturned a 3-0 half-time deficit against Ajax to go through on away goals, with Moura scoring a sublime 2^nd half hat-trick. Spurs’ final goal, which came in the 96^th minute, epitomises the team’s remarkable European run that has been on the brink of ending since October as their opponents generally outclass them for the first leg and much of the second, only for plucky Tottenham to come fighting back in true underdog fashion, with commentators and pundits highlighting at every possible moment that all this has been achieved despite there being minimal investment in the first-team squad compared to the budgets of Europe’s other top teams.

Lucas Moura was the hero as Spurs came from behind to beat Ajax

It is fair to say that while both Klopp and Pochettino have arrived at the same destination, their journeys couldn’t be more contrasting, as Klopp prepares for his 6^th major final with a side that cost £340m but under the unbearable pressure of knowing this has to be their year, while Pochettino readies himself for his first ever major final as a manager having not signed a player for 484 days but with a squad that has peaked earlier than expected and may not get another chance. Liverpool and Tottenham have already given their fans countless memories from a tournament that has more than lived up to the billing, whether it be the comebacks against Barca and Ajax, the VAR drama against Man City or the group stage great escapes, but now all eyes turn to Madrid as Europe awaits the final that no-one may have predicted back in 2015 or even six weeks ago, but everyone will be tuning in to as two of Europe’s greatest managers face off on the biggest stage of all.