InterviewNFL star Minkah Fitzpatrick: 'This club reminds me of the Pittsburgh Steelers'

The three-time All-Pro safety, who represents one of the most storied franchises in the NFL, recently visited Anfield for the first time to soak up its special atmosphere and watch the Reds in action.

During his time in L4, Liverpoolfc.com caught up with Fitzpatrick to chat about how he ended up following the club, his admiration for the current squad and whether any would give him a run for his money in the secondary.

Read on for the interview...

Minkah, how and why are you a Liverpool fan?

One of my good friends grew up a Liverpool fan since he was eight years old. Since I've known him, he's been pushing Liverpool on me heavy and I started watching. I love the way that the players play, I love the tenacity, the energy and they remind me of how we play in Pittsburgh – it's blue-collar. So I respect it, I love watching it and I just fell in love since I've been watching for the past two years.

What's it like following Liverpool back in the States and during an NFL season?

It's tough, honestly, because a lot of the games are early, so I'll be having to set reminders in my phone to get up early on a Saturday to watch a game. It's awesome, it's something new for me, it's something fun. I'm always learning about the game, I'm always learning about other players and I never really had another sport that I enjoy learning so much about.

You grew up playing football, so what position did you play?

I was alright, I'm not going to claim to be all-world. But I was pretty good just because of my athleticism. I played left-back. I started when I was four and I played up until the end of my freshman high-school year.

Which players do you admire from this Liverpool squad?

Man, I love watching Luis Diaz. When he's in there, he's just full of energy, he always gives 110, his motor is impressive. As a professional athlete myself, you just respect guys like that. The man never takes a play off, he's hustling to every ball. And Virgil – he's a defence man, so I've got to show respect and love. He's a big guy, fast guy and he's been in the game a long time and been playing at a high level.

Do you reckon you'd be able to keep up with Diaz or Mohamed Salah in the secondary? It'd be a good race...

Woooo! It'd be tough, for sure, but I'll give my best effort.

Just on our manager Jürgen Klopp, do you sense he's similar to your head coach Mike Tomlin in that players absolutely love playing for him?

I love hearing Klopp talk because you can tell he talks from a place of wisdom, knowledge and experience. I think any coach that does that deserves respect, and I think that's why coaches like him and coach Tomlin are well respected by their players because they only speak from places of wisdom, experiences and things that they've been a part of. There's definitely a correlation between the two.

So you'd definitely run through a brick wall for Klopp then?

One-hundred per cent. If he asked me to go suit up today, I'd do it.