INTERVIEWA knee injury suffered by Matip in October opened the door
for him to return to regular first-team action and he believes
remaining patient has paid off. “It was not so easy to come back
and fit into a team that is playing the last eight to 10 games
always together. For two months I was out, on the sidelines, but
I have been patient and I have been working behind the scenes
with the ‘other team’, I would say.
“I’ve got my opportunity and at the moment I am in. I’m trying
my best to be in the starting XI for the next games, but here the
quality is so high you can never rest and say ‘Yeah, I’m in’.
“I started from zero again to show, to prove, that I deserve to
be in the first XI. That’s football, you know? When you’ve been
months out in the last season and not had so many minutes on
the pitch it’s about restarting and in the pre-season I did that.
“I worked harder, I worked behind the scenes and maybe it the
season didn’t start as well as I had hoped, but I was speaking
with the manager and it [the message from him] was ‘patience,
patience, patience’. That is easier to say than do, but I did it and
in the end everything came back.”
Lovren’s performances, particularly in the Anfield wins against
Tottenham and Manchester City, have earned him some big
post-match hugs from Klopp. It’s hardly a new thing for the
Liverpool manager to embrace his players, but it remains
something that Lovren appreciates.
“He does this with every player, especially after the big games
when you show your emotion. We hug each other and it means
a lot for me.
“Even if I’m used to it for years, it’s good to be hugged when
you haven’t played for a long time. It’s good to feel that you are
again important here – this is what matters for every player.”
Of course we can’t finish an interview with Dejan Lovren
without mentioning his friendship with Mo Salah. The pair are
well known for being mates and anyone who saw their recent
‘Face Off’ video, in partnership with Western Union, on the
club website will realise they will banter about anything from
haircuts and pizza toppings to ping-pong.
During that particular recording they agreed to settle their
claims to be the better table-tennis table player by being filmed
for a one-off game to be held in the future, and when Lovren is
asked about Salah he can’t help but send a few cheeky jibes in
his mate’s direction before praising his quality.
“We have an incredible friendship since day two – not day
one. He was quite strange on day one and didn’t say how are
you? Or who are you? Or anything like that! Which was also
maybe my fault, but since day two we just clicked together and
have been smiling from that day.
“It’s incredible to work with him and have a friend like him...
and I think he’s thinking the same about me [laughs]. It’s just
enjoyable to be here with him and share these moments.
“We won the Champions League together and I know what
that means for him. I know the background he came from and
he knows the same situation with me.
“I’m honoured that I am a team player who can play with him
because he is an unbelievable player who puts a lot of effort
into his work. People don’t see that, but I see it every day.
Unfortunately he has had some small injuries, but he will come
back to his best form.”
As has Dejan Lovren.