Europa LeagueInterview: Why Patrik Berger can't lose when Liverpool meet Sparta Prague

Liverpool and Sparta Prague, the two clubs he loves, will meet in the last 16 of the Europa League, with the first leg of the tie taking place at Stadion Letna in Berger’s hometown on Thursday evening.

“To be honest with you, I spoke about it with my son and I could kind of sense it that it was going to happen, so I was not really that surprised when the draw was made!” Berger told Liverpoolfc.com.

“But I was absolutely delighted that Liverpool is going to come to Prague and they are going to play against my childhood team. It doesn’t really happen that often where you can have two teams that you played for and that you have in your heart, that they are going to play against each other, so I was absolutely delighted.

“In a way, it’s like I can’t lose, no matter who is going to go through – I will be cheering for either of the teams!

“But obviously it is great generally for Czech football, for Prague, for the Sparta Prague fans and also for the players as it’s the dream draw, basically: that is why you are playing football, you want to play against the best and that is what they are going to do, facing Liverpool over here in Prague and then at Anfield.”

Berger, who spent seven years on Merseyside, remains a popular figure among Liverpool supporters.

He made 196 appearances for the Reds following his arrival from Borussia Dortmund after playing a key role as the Czech Republic reached the final of Euro 96 where, despite Berger scoring the opener, they were beaten by Germany.

A classy attacking player with a wonderful left foot, he was part of Gerard Houllier’s 2001 treble-winning squad and had a penchant for the spectacular when it came to goals.

After leaving Anfield, Berger had spells with Portsmouth, Aston Villa and Stoke City before enjoying something of a fairy-tale conclusion to his top-level career by spending 18 months with Sparta.

The 50-year-old will be on media duty with LFCTV for the first leg in Prague and he provided detailed analysis on what Jürgen Klopp’s side can expect to face over the course of the tie.

“Ladislav Krejci is the leader of the team. He is the main man and plays centre-back,” Berger said.

“They also have Veljko Birmancevic, who is on loan from Toulouse. Lukas Haraslin is also a very, very good player, he’s from Slovakia. These three players are probably the star players they have, but they generally play really well as a team.

“To be honest with you, three years ago it was difficult to watch them as they didn’t really play well. They really had a hard time but as soon as Tomas Rosicky took over as the general manager, they appointed a new coach from Denmark, Brian Priske, and he had a hard time at the beginning but obviously he wanted to change the style of football and that takes time.

“You need to bring in your own players and eventually they gave him the time and he was able to change the team a little bit and it is starting to pay off.

“So, they won the league last year and I think they play really good football. It’s good to watch, they try to go forward, they try to put the ball on the floor and basically play what you might call modern European football.”

Sparta are mounting a strong bid to retain their league title this season. Having drawn 0-0 with second-placed Slavia Prague on Sunday, they lead their neighbours at the top of the table by four points.

And Berger does not expect Priske’s side to compromise on their expansive, attack-minded philosophy when they take on Liverpool.

He continued: “I think they are not going to change that much. They try to play.

“Like Liverpool, they try to play with the goalkeeper, they put the ball on the floor and they try to build up the play from the goalkeeper to the defenders and they try to keep the ball at their feet for as long as possible and then find a way to go forward.

“I don’t think they are going to change anything. I think they are going to play their way, the same as Liverpool.”

However, Berger expects the Reds to prevail over two legs and advance to the quarter-finals.

“To be honest with you, I am terrible with predictions, which is why I don’t bet!” he added.

“I think that it is going to be a hard game for Liverpool over here in Prague, but obviously in Europe Liverpool is so strong at home with the fans, with the atmosphere and everything around it [so] I am expecting Liverpool to go through.

“It’s not going to be easy, don’t get me wrong, but I think Liverpool, even now they have so many injuries we could see in the games against Chelsea and Southampton that the young lads can step in and they are good enough to play at the top level against the best in the world. They proved that.

“So, I don’t know who is going to be fit for the tie but I’m expecting Liverpool to go through. It won’t be easy but I think they will go through.”

Of course, Klopp’s 2023-24 squad could emulate the club’s 2001 vintage by winning the League Cup, FA Cup and Europa League this season.

Berger was at Wembley nine days ago to see the Reds tick the first trophy off their to-do list – “One of the best finals I’ve ever been to!” – and he believes they can, like the group he was part of, go on to achieve even more this term.

“The first important thing is that they are still in three other competitions and they won the first one so one is out of the way, which helps with the pressure,” he explained.

“Obviously there is always pressure, but you kind of think, ‘OK, we won the first trophy, so let’s play it game by game and if we perform and play as we did in that cup in the other games, then obviously we have a chance to win more silverware this season, without a doubt.’

“I remember 2001 like it was yesterday! We won the first cup and then we all started to believe that anything is possible. We really approached the rest of the season like, ‘Let’s play it step by step, game by game, and if we play well then we have a chance.’

“We still had a couple of games in the UEFA Cup before we got into the final, then the FA Cup and also we were fighting for the Champions League spot, which we actually secured in the last game of the season.

“So, definitely, it’s very similar to 2001 and I believe that the win at Wembley gave the current team such a big boost and confidence. I also believe that the injured players will be coming back and Liverpool will be even stronger towards the end of the season.”

And Berger is in no doubt that the impending departure of Klopp will only increase the level of desire within the current squad to make history.

“Of course it will,” he stated. “If you play for Liverpool it is all about trophies, all about silverware, so you want to win it for yourself, you want to win it for the club, you want to win it for the fans, and also for the manager.

“We can see that the relationship between Jürgen and the players is just unbelievable. It seems like everyone in the squad loves him and it’s not easy to have that as you can have 25 or 30 players in the squad and obviously not everyone can play.

“But it seems like everyone loves him and I think they definitely want to win. Obviously they wanted to win the Carabao Cup not just for themselves and the club and the fans, but also for Jürgen, definitely.

“Definitely there is more motivation for the players to win as much as possible just because he is leaving and it would be a beautiful and fantastic goodbye to Jürgen if they could win a couple more trophies before the end of the season.”