Jürgen Klopp on the Community Shield approach and back-to-back games
For Europe’s elite clubs, there are trophies that everyone agrees matter. Then there are trophies that matter especially if you earn them. Then, a little further down the line, there’s the Community Shield, a handsome prize if you win it and less than an afterthought if you don’t.
Known as Charity Shield until 2002 when the UK Charity Commission ruled that it failed to meet the most basic legal obligations of a charity, such as not making public the amount actually donated to charity, it’s both the traditional curtain raiser for the English football calendar and a game that’s often treated as a pre-season warm-up.
This year it is also taking place on the same weekend as the Women’s Euro final which is due to be played between Germany and England from Wembley on Sunday, forcing the Shield to be moved from London to Leicester.
“It’s a very important game but we still have to prepare for the season,” Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp replied when asked how he was preparing his team to face Pep Guardiola. Manchester City. “So we can’t ignore that or that we played last night against Salzburg.
“We trained twice the day before, so quite intense, and that’s what we have to do. I can’t ignore the fact that after this important match, it’s a season ahead. So we have to extend our pre-season, if you wish, into the season. We play Saturday against City and we play a pre-season game against Strasbourg on Sunday.
Liverpool’s approach to their midweek friendly against RB Salzburg, with most of Klopp’s presumed first-choice XI only having 30 minutes left in the second half, suggests those players will in turn take the lead. start against City and will play most if not all of the game.
Then the players who didn’t start, probably most of the same ones who did start against Salzburg – will have the chance to play most of the game against Strasbourg on Sunday afternoon from Anfield before the focus turns to Fulham and the start of the Premier League season.
“We try to do the right things but, of course, the schedule is always a challenge to manage and that’s how it is,” Klopp added. “It will be a challenge to play 90 minutes, so we’ll see, but if you win it, it’s a very important competition. If you lose it, maybe it becomes less important.