Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has admitted to being amazed by the ease with which Zinedine Zidane has taken to management, as his Real Madrid counterpart goes in search of a third Champions League crown.
The Frenchman took over from Rafael Benitez at the Bernabeu helm at the start of 2016 and has already won a raft of major honours, including back-to-back successes in UEFA's flagship competition.
Klopp, by comparison, has yet to get off the mark with any silverware during his two-and-a-half seasons at Anfield, which he believes makes Zidane's achievements all the more remarkable.
Speaking to reporters ahead of Saturday's Champions League final between Liverpool and Madrid, the Reds boss said: "If people think Zinedine Zidane has not a lot of knowledge in tactics... well they say the same about me. Two coaches in the final who have no clue about tactics - what would that say about the game?!
"Zidane is one of the best five players of all time. I'm longer at Liverpool than he has been manager of Real Madrid and he is trying to win his third Champions League. That has never happened before in a manager's career.
"He is brilliant, like he was as a player. This group of players work like a clock from Switzerland. I saw his team playing a lot of times and it's fantastic football, which is organised when it needs to be and can also be chaos.
"But it's football and there's always an opportunity for the other team as well, that's enough for me."
Klopp has lost both previous finals during his time in charge of Liverpool, falling just short in the EFL Cup and Europa League in 2016.
Daniel Lewis
