Tuesday 24 January 2017 06:28, UK
When Wolves visit Liverpool in the FA Cup fourth round at Anfield on Saturday, the game will pit two Borussia Dortmund heroes against each other. Find out how Wolves boss Paul Lambert is attempting to emulate Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp in more ways than one.
When Jurgen Klopp's Borussia Dortmund prepared to face Juventus in a Champions League tie in 2015, he was dismissive of the notion that the club's victory over the same opponents in the final of the competition 18 years earlier could possibly be a motivational tool.
And yet, one of the heroes of that famous night appears to be taking plenty of inspiration from Klopp. Paul Lambert was the man in midfield who helped shackle Zinedine Zidane two decades ago, but now he is busy releasing the shackles at Wolves.
Having returned to management looking rather more trim, Lambert is unrecognisable in more ways than one from the man who became so burdened by his travails at Aston Villa. He is taking a self-consciously care-free approach to life in the Championship.
"My way is to be on the front foot," he declared in his first press conference as Wolves manager in November, before name-dropping Liverpool boss Klopp soon after and painting a vivid picture of the high-tempo pressing game he intended to introduce.
A dramatic 4-4 draw with Fulham in December in which Wolves came from two goals down only to concede a stoppage-time equaliser might have made him rethink this pursuit of excitement. Instead, Lambert broke managerial code by claiming he'd prefer this to a boring 1-0 win.
"I love watching this team play," he said recently and when the 1-0 win did come - against old club Aston Villa at Molineux - it was anything but dull. "You can feel and sense that we're vibrant and energetic," he said afterwards. "Our pressing is great."
Klopp, of course, is seen as one of the foremost proponents of this pressing game. And his relationship with Lambert, whose Wolves side he will face at Anfield on Saturday in the FA Cup fourth round, is a long-standing one that dates back to a 2004 coaching course.
The pair took their UEFA Pro Licence together in Germany, and speaking to Lambert last season, it was clear that he has fond memories of the "humble guy" he met back then. The two men have maintained intermittent contact ever since.
"We went our separate ways," he told Sky Sports. "But I knew he'd got the Dortmund job and spoke to him way back. The next time I saw him was when I went to watch them train at Wembley before the Champions League final. He shouted me over and we had a good chat."
Like so many, Lambert was wowed by Dortmund's style of play. "It's the running power of the team," he said. "They are high intensity. They outran a lot of teams and it was high pressing." After his departure from Villa, he arranged to go out and see Klopp at work.
"I went over for nine days and it was fantastic," he added. "I took loads of things away from it in terms of the way they work. It's hard to explain because you have to see it. It's the way the whole thing is structured and how it's done. It's just excellent."
There were further trips to Germany to see Roger Schmidt's entertaining Bayer Leverkusen side and the Bundesliga success story that is RB Leipzig. But it is not just the style of play that Lambert appears anxious to incorporate. It's the entire German experience.
"The German stadiums are full and there's always a great atmosphere," he explained. "The fans are special at Dortmund. The Sudtribune is unbelievable. I've always said that before I leave this earth I'm going to go in there and watch a game because it's a special place.
The Sudtribune is unbelievable. I've always said that before I leave this earth I'm going to go in there and watch a game because it's a special place.
"The football club itself generates an upbeat atmosphere because of the fan base. It's an incredible place to play your football. I was fortunate enough to play there. The support is unbelievable and there always seems to be a feel-good factor."
That's the atmosphere he is endeavouring to create at Wolves. He has spoken of the importance of building a "massive rapport" with the supporters, the like of which he enjoyed at Dortmund, and has been a forceful advocate of the so-called Viking thunder clap.
Wolves' Icelandic forward Jon Dadi Bodvarsson is the man charged with leading the way and it has become a real feature under Lambert. "I would pay admission money every week to see that," he said having witnessed it following December's 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest.
Klopp, of course, was ridiculed in some quarters for encouraging his Liverpool players to salute the Kop as one following a 2-2 draw against West Brom last season - the thank you being wrongly interpreted as a celebration.
Such behaviour is not so common in English football culture but it is something that Klopp and Lambert are keen to change. Indeed, the sight of Lambert forcefully ushering his players towards the crowd upon the final whistle has now become a familiar one.
With Klopp, it all feels natural. What's interesting is that for Lambert it feels more like an epiphany. Having lost the crowd in previous jobs, he seems determined not to do so again. It seems the Jurgen Klopp template - on and off the field - is an appealing one to follow.
