Jürgen Klopp draws on Liverpool’s golden history for inspiration ahead of Champions League return to Rome

Two of Liverpool’s five Champions League successes have come inside the Stadio Olimpcio, and despite being a man who looks to the future, Klopp will watch those successes to draw inspiration

It is exceedingly rare that Jürgen Klopp dwells on Liverpool’s glorious trophy-laden history past but he will make an exception for their Champions League semi-final against AS Roma.

Klopp has revealed he plans to watch videos of Liverpool’s two European Cup final victories at the Stadio Olimpico as he seeks inspiration for his own night of “destiny” in the Eternal City.

Liverpool were drawn against Roma in the semi-finals of the Champions League on Friday with the first leg at Anfield on 24 April and second in the Italian capital on 2 May.

Rome was the setting for both the first and fourth of Liverpool’s five European Cup victories.

Liverpool lifted the trophy for the first time in 1977 when they beat German club Borussia Monchengladbach and again in 1984 with a penalty shootout success against hosts Roma.

Klopp acknowledged Liverpool’s association with the city is akin to that felt by German nationals if they visit the Swiss city of Bern, where the Wunder von Bern (Miracle of Bern) World Cup final took place, and one he would draw upon.

“I will watch them for sure because it is destiny,” Klopp said. “If any German goes to Bern in Switzerland he cannot avoid thinking about 1954.

“There are not a lot of people around on the planet from that time now but it is just a special place. You think, ‘Ok, it happened here, well done, all these guys.’

“Those Liverpool teams were great but they became great in these situations and now people say 'They did it like this'.

“Thank God Rome is still Rome. It is the place, it is not who did what, it's the place.

“Of course if I find something that helped make this place even more remarkable or special for Liverpool then I will use it.”

Klopp feels the Champions League run has captured the imaginations of the club's past players(Getty) (Liverpool FC)

Liverpool beat Manchester City 5-1 on aggregate in their Champions League quarter-final following a 2-1 victory at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.

And Klopp said their run to the semi-finals of the competition has captured the imagination of the club’s iconic former players.

He added: “The legends we all love are around and they are clapping because they like this.

“Kenny Dalglish is over the moon and completely on fire. Steven Gerrard and all the other guys in between, you can feel it and see it. That’s cool.

“But if anybody thinks this is the easiest draw then I cannot help this person; they obviously didn’t see Roma's games against Barcelona.”

Klopp believes the additional attention on Salah will help spur the whole team on (Getty)

Liverpool’s tie with Roma will also see Mohamed Salah come against his former club for the first time. Inevitably the 25-year-old will be the centre of attention for the two-legged tie given his stunning form following a £36.9m switch to Anfield last summer.

Salah has scored 39 goals in all competitions for Liverpool ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Bournemouth, although Klopp is confident down-to-earth Salah will be able to cope with the extra scrutiny.

“With Mo everyone likes the hype around him,” he said. “When we came out for the Champions League training against Manchester City I said to the boys ‘come on we go out naked because no one will notice because they are only here to see if Mo is ok!’

Klopp knows there is extra pressure on Salah as a result of his form (Getty)

“The boys are smart enough and Mo is so thankful. Now we go to Rome and I don’t think the hype will be a little bit less for him. But it is ok.

“Everybody knows how big Mo’s impact on our season has been – and they’ve played a season without him. Where would they be if Mo was still there in Rome?

“It makes it a really interesting thing and for him, it will be 100 per cent special. He is already of interest wherever we go, but it might go crazy when we go to Rome! He can deal with that, I am sure.”