Photo: Peter Byrne/PA
It would go down in history as one of Jürgen Klopp's most famous lines and it served to project him to a wider and increasingly captivated audience. It was November 2013 and the spotlight was on the superstar Borussia Dortmund manager, who had admirers everywhere, but especially in England.
Manchester City and Chelsea wanted him back in the summer of that year and now he was preparing to host Arsenal, another Premier League club who had him on their radar, in a Champions League group match. Many Arsenal supporters viewed Klopp as the ideal successor to Arsene Wenger, which, as an aside, reminds us of the long-lasting nature of his endgame. The Frenchman would not leave until 2018.
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There were certain similarities between the two; the career paths, the promotion of young players, the entertainment styles, the approaches to squad building. Klopp didn't see it. "He likes to have the ball, to play football, to pass... it's like an orchestra," he said, pretending to play the violin. 'But it's a quiet song, yes? I like heavy metal."
Klopp sat in court with a handful of English journalists and they all remember every detail. Lively. Klopp will grab you in no time. The magnetism, the big smile, the power of his presence and personality. The energy, which can be a bit crazy. Or explosive.
One of the most important things about Klopp, as with all greats, is how he refines connections. At the time, it felt inevitable that the Premier League would be his next destination at some point, even though he insisted nothing could happen until 2018 as he had just extended his contract with Dortmund until then. On the other hand, life can always get in the way.
Manchester United were keeping an eye on him. Retiring Sir Alex Ferguson had seen him at Wembley at the end of the previous season after Klopp's team lost to Bayern Munich in the Champions League final and congratulated him on the way he did. But when it was time for Klopp to make his move in 2015, there was one destination that felt right; the match with Liverpool is almost impossibly perfect.
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Klopp has taken his place in the pantheon of Premier League management legends, alongside Ferguson and Wenger, Pep Guardiola and José Mourinho. In the wake of his announcement on Friday that he is running on fumes and nearing the limits of his energy, meaning he absolutely must resign at the end of the season, there have been so many eulogies that it is reminiscent of a comment from Wenger after he finally left Arsenal. "I don't have to die anymore because I know what it's like," he said.
The retrospective focus on Klopp's extraordinary nine years at Liverpool has the potential to hamper the generation of momentum as he tries to go out with a bang. It's something he has to fight. But then again, Klopp only knows one way: fight every day and give everything.
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The 56-year-old has won all the majors at Liverpool, although certainly not in the volumes he would have liked. Ferguson's biggest regret at United was winning only two European Cups. Without the last two defeats against Real Madrid, Klopp would have had three at Liverpool. As for Klopp's league title, it was his misfortune to come up against Guardiola's City machine. Liverpool's returns of 97 and 92 points in 2019 and 2022 respectively would have been enough for glory at almost any other time.
Klopp plans to add to the seven major honors he has won with Liverpool before giving up and leaving the team to compete on all three domestic fronts - plus the Europa League. In the show-us-your medals in English football, he follows Ferguson, who finished with an astonishing 38, Wenger (17), Guardiola (16 and counting) and Mourinho (11).
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The statistics show that Klopp has the third-best points per game in Premier League history - behind Guardiola and Ferguson, in that order; for Mourinho and Wenger. His win percentage of 60.7 in all competitions is higher than that of any other Liverpool manager. But it is the more intangible matters where Klopp scores so heavily.
There is the style of play and the intensity that has created such buy-in from the Liverpool crowd. Most of the time his team was competitive and fun to watch, and that should never be taken for granted. His approach to pressing has revamped the English game.
But above all we come back to the connection. It is why Klopp is so revered in Liverpool's red half and respected, however grudgingly, by fans elsewhere. Does the latter find his meltdowns on the sidelines annoying? Yes. Would they want that kind of passion in their dugout? Also yes.
Klopp wasn't just about imposing himself on his club, which is what the very best do, although that clearly plays a role. It is the way he has tapped into the mentality of the wider community, the city of Liverpool, to harness a powerful sense of identity and belonging.
"Being an honorable scouser is probably the best thing I could have ever achieved in my life. It's absolutely outstanding," Klopp said on Friday. "The way these people deal with difficulties is a role model for me. I have learned so much here."
Klopp gets Liverpool, mainly because his values align with those of the city. An incurable romantic, he likes to portray his teams as brave, hard-working outsiders versus those with more money. He did it at Dortmund with Bayern. And for Bayern, now read City. It's a move that usually works out well and has underlined the restoration of Liverpool's aura of confidence.
When Klopp announced he was stepping aside because he believed his "energy level was endless and now it isn't," there was the temptation to look for an alternative explanation, a more controversial or conspiratorial explanation. Yet his story has no holes. It's authentic, consistent.
Rewind to Wednesday night at Fulham, after Klopp's side advanced to the Carabao Cup final. Liverpool supporters had unfurled a banner that read: 'Imagine you are us.' So, how was it? "There are certainly worse situations," Klopp replied. But then he got straight into the stress of an impending pile-up of matches. "Imagine being us and having to play all the games we have to play," he said. "That's not as fun as watching it."
Wenger always said: "Physically you have to be an animal in this job." It always takes you to one stage or another. Guardiola needed a year out after Barcelona in 2012.
The question that continues to be scrutinized is why Klopp has told this to the world now. The idea is to give Liverpool all the time and clarity they need to plan ahead, but he certainly broke the news early. Klopp does not want the remaining games of Liverpool's season to be about him. So all the best with that, Jürgen. Perhaps the more realistic hope is that the players will be galvanized by this longest goodbye.
The obvious parallel is with Ferguson's announcement in May 2001 that the following season would be his last at United. It was a mistake, the Scot later admitted: "Many players had put their tools away." Naturally, he would make a U-turn in January and stay until 2013.
When Ferguson ended it for good, it was with an abrupt announcement that there were only two games left of the season. There is no point in watching Mourinho's departure from the Premier League because it was never in his control. But with Wenger he also made a sudden announcement, albeit with seven games of 2017/18 still to play.
Klopp's farewell tour starts on Sunday against Norwich in the FA Cup. It will be loud and emotional. Just the way he likes it.