Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp: New Zealand haka is a must-see at Anfield

Drew Darbyshire

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp revealed that he actually used to instruct his team to do the haka when they were travelling to away games.

The New Zealand rugby league team spent time at Liverpool’s training ground on Tuesday, where the Kiwis met members of the Liverpool squad, including manager Klopp.

The German football boss admitted that he loves the haka and actually ordered Mainz 05, his former club in the Bundesliga, to do the haka when they travelled to away matches.

Klopp said: “I love the haka and my managerial career actually started with a haka.

“When I became a manager at Mainz, I was a player on the Sunday and became a manager on the Monday.

“I love the intensity of the haka and when we drove the bus to the stadium, the last two minutes of the journey was the haka and when the bus door opened, you could hear the last few seconds of our haka, so it helped us a lot.

“It put us in a pretty special mood, so we used it for two or three years, and I’m always happy when I can hear it, especially when its live. It is a really interesting experience and I can only recommend to everybody who has never seen it before that they have to see it.”

Klopp traded a football shirt for a rugby league shirt with Kiwis’ coach Michael Maguire at Melwood and the pair had a chat about all things sport.

Klopp added: “They great bunch of sport guys and it is a pleasure as always.

“I think it is the third time now that we have had the opportunity to host them here, so it is really cool, and the kitchen enjoys it a lot because the boys are good eaters!

“We are a very open-minded club and it’s really important to learn from different teams. The sport is quite different, so we can’t probably use similar tactics, but it is still really interesting. We’ve all had a little chat and I’ve loved it.”

International England