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On Saturday afternoon, Jürgen Klopp and James Milner headed up to Scotland to participate in a charity match co-sponsored by the James Milner Foundation, called A Match For Cancer. (If you’re alarmed by the name, don’t be. Turns out the match was actually against cancer, despite the deceptive title. Phew.)
The Liverpool leaders were on one team, while current Celtic and former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers was managing the other, along with captain Stiliyan Petrov, whose foundation co-sponsored the event as well. The match featured some familiar faces, including Robbie Keane, Luis Garcia, and Dirk Kuyt, among others.
The match settled to a 3-3 draw, with Milner’s team thrice giving up a lead throughout the 90 minutes.
After the match, Klopp commented on the nice afternoon up north.
“It was nice. The atmosphere was really good and the guys on the pitch tried to give everything. I enjoyed it,” Klopp told the official website.
“The people saw a lot of big names, still in a good shape. That they all came over here and did what they did is really nice. It was for something really good and that’s why we were all here.
“I really respect a lot what Millie is doing with his foundation. It’s great. The gala is once a year and I was there three times. It’s a fantastic event and everybody is so generous. He invests a lot of time and money and all the people on the night invest a lot of money. It’s all for a really good project, I like that a lot.
“I like these things, it’s a fantastic idea. There’s a lot of work behind something like that. It’s a big thank-you to Celtic that they did it at the stadium and for the organisation – it’s a really cool thing.”
It was great that Klopp, Milner, and the other players and managers came together during the break from competitive football to give back. These matches are always entertaining, and it’s fun to see some old favorites take the pitch as well.
With their Scottish adventure complete, Klopp and Milner both headed back to Liverpool to continue training in preparation for the next game against Spurs, which is less than a week away.