There was a particular visitor at Liverpool’s AXA Coaching Centre on Wednesday, with Rugby World Cup winner and South Africa captain Siya Kolisi in attendance.
A giant Liverpool fan, Kolisi led the Springboks to World Cup glory within the remaining towards England in November 2019.
Later that month, an opportunity assembly with Jurgen Klopp in Cape City led to an invitation to Liverpool’s Champions League conflict with Napoli, the primary time he’d had the chance to observe the Reds stay at Anfield.
And Kolisi realised one other dream earlier this week when, courtesy of AdidasZA, he met Klopp once more and watched Liverpool’s gamers partake in Wednesday’s coaching session.
The South Africa rugby star posted some footage of Virgil van Dijk in motion on Instagram, in addition to photos with Klopp and Thiago, who he calls a “magician.”
Kolisi was there along with his spouse Rachel, who described the day as a “dream come true” on her Instagram.
Again in 2019, having simply received the World Cup, he defined his disbelief after bumping into Klopp.
“I used to be sitting there with Faf du Plessis, the South Africa cricket captain, and I virtually fell off my chair after I noticed him stroll in as a result of I couldn’t consider it,” he informed Liverpoolfc.com on the time.
“He went to the toilet and I used to be standing outdoors ready for him to return out.
“I used to be too scared to ask him [for a chat], so I simply gave him my cellphone as I knew somebody who knew him. Then he came to visit and mentioned, ‘Mate, you may have requested. I do know who you’re, we watched the ultimate’. In order that fully touched me.
“Then he spoke to us for 40 minutes.”
Kolisi went on to clarify how his admiration of Steven Gerrard as a teen, notably his management expertise, “touched his coronary heart.”
As a World Cup winner, let’s hope Kolisi had some inspiring phrases of recommendation for Liverpool’s gamers, as they embark on their busy pre-World Cup schedule!