Former Borussia Dortmund midfielder Nuri Sahin has said that what makes his former boss Jurgen Klopp so special is the fact that the Liverpool manager never forgets he is human.
Klopp made great strides alongside Sahin at Signal Iduna Park, winning two Bundesliga titles, the DFB Pokal, two DFL-Supercups and reaching the Champions League final.
Sahin was a key player for Klopp for some time and his exploits for Dortmund led to a dream move to Real Madrid, although things did not quite work out for the Turkey international as he managed only four starts in La Liga for Los Blancos in between being sent out on loan.
Still, Sahin has not forgotten what he learned and achieved under Klopp, and is happy to see his old coach is keeping his feet on the ground as he takes Liverpool from strength to strength.
"The most special thing about Klopp is that he is so normal," 31-year-old Sahin told the Kicker meets DAZN podcast. "I think it must be incredibly difficult to stay grounded when you're him.
"I was with him during a season of crisis and he never forgot how to be human – that's his greatest strength. Of course, there's also his quality as a football coach!"
Elaborating on his tactical qualities, Sahin added: "The mix [of dominance and counter-pressing] is important because you don't give teams any time in the long run – Liverpool are probably the best at that at the moment.
"At the beginning of Klopp's time there, they were reduced only to counter-pressing, but they developed. What Barcelona did in 2008, 2009, that was the measure of all things. They had both possession of the ball and counter-pressing."
Sahin now plies his trade with Werder Bremen, having left Dortmund in 2018. And with the midfielder now entering the twilight of his career, he admits he is very much looking forward to transitioning into coaching.
"I'm extremely interested in the profession," he said. "It all started with Jurgen Klopp and continued with Thomas Tuchel. I'm passionate about the profession and I try to soak up a lot. I try to take something out of interviews and documentaries.
"I don't want to be like anyone else, I want to find my own coaching style. Klopp is the measure of all things but I also found Peter Bosz and Tuchel really interesting on the tactics board – and Brendan Rodgers' training sessions, too. I try to read every book about Pep Guardiola.
"With Flo [Bremen coach Florian Kohfelt], I particularly like how he sees the positional game. I also have Julian Nagelsmann's number now too so I'll call him sometimes too!
"I don't know if I'll be a good or bad coach, but I do know that I will love the job."