️ Jürgen Klopp on criticism of Thomas Tuchel after losing to Argentina:
“People always speak after the game like coaching is easy – like you just choose ‘attack’ or ‘defend’ and that’s it. It doesn’t work like this. Football is much more complex
I see the criticism of Tuchel for trying to defend the 1–0 against Argentina, but let me tell you something – if he didn’t do that, if he kept pushing forward and they conceded, the same people would be here saying, ‘Why didn’t he control the game? Why didn’t he defend the lead?’ In knockout football, whatever decision you make, someone will criticize you.
I’m not saying every decision is perfect, but you have to understand the logic behind it. Managing a game at that stage is never simple.
And then… there’s another reality. This Argentina team, the belief, the mentality – sometimes it feels like something special is with them in these moments.
And when you have Lionel Messi… what can you do? He’s 39, and still the best player in the world. You think you’ve controlled him, you think you’ve done everything right – and then he makes the difference. Two assists, two decisive actions, and the game is gone.
So yes, you can talk tactics, you can talk decisions… but sometimes, you also have to accept that greatness decides matches. And if you don’t understand that, you don’t really understand football.”
Tuchel said he has no regrets. What do you think?
