As Captain, He Had to Shoulder More

Night had completely enveloped the entire Melwood training base.

The training grounds were pitch-black, with only a lone light still shining on the third floor of the office building.

Knock, knock, knock...

"Come in."

Klopp took off his glasses and looked up at the door. "Peter? You haven't left either?"

The visitor was his assistant, Peter Kravietz.

He raised the bag in his hand, and several cans of beer clinked softly together.

"I knew you'd still be here. Perfect, let's have a drink."

Klopp grinned and gestured toward the sofa.

Pssht...

The two beer cans were opened one after the other, and a rich malty aroma filled the air.

"Wow..." Klopp took a huge gulp. "How were the players today?"

"Not bad." Kravietz sat down on the sofa.

"Especially Annuo. Funny enough, after losing the EFL Cup, I feel like he's actually more relaxed than before."

At that, Klopp smiled until his eyes narrowed. "That's just how he is. He's more competitive than anyone. Now that the EFL Cup is gone, that nerve he's kept wound tight might finally have loosened up."

He shook the beer can in his hand, his tone carrying the confidence of experience.

"Honestly, I'd thought of it at the start of the season. Trying to defend every trophy this season was almost impossible."

One issue was that the players couldn't keep going forever. More importantly...

He paused and looked at Kravietz. "We're drawing too much attention now. You know, Peter? The entire Premier League, even all of Europe, has its eyes on us. They're all itching to take us down."

"Then there was the summer transfer window. Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea—which one of them didn't spend a fortune? Our opponents are strong."

Holding his beer, Kravietz slowly nodded.

"So getting knocked out of the