Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool Football Club invited the New Zealand Rugby League team to make use of their facilities at the Melwood training ground ahead of their match against England at Anfield this weekend. As you can see from the video below, the warm welcome even included a Halloween jack-o-lantern with the Kiwis logo carved into it.
One good turn deserves another, so the New Zealand Rugby League squad treated Klopp and the Reds to a special performance of the haka. If you really need to get PUMPED UP! today for any reason, then have a watch below. You’ll see why this video is going crazy viral right now.
WHAT A SIGHT!! ?
The Haka is always special to witness…especially in the canteen at Melwood!@NZRL_Kiwis called into the Reds' base for a warm-up session ahead of Sunday's match against @England_RL at Anfield: https://t.co/QhQkNT1Raz pic.twitter.com/qhgqLKW228
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) October 30, 2018
For those who don’t know, the haka is a Maori war dance native to New Zealand, but increasing in popularity worldwide these days. It’s become common for teams in various sports in numerous countries to utilize it has a means of getting hyped up for a massive competition. It has become especially popular in American football.
Klopp himself made the haka part of his routine back when he was managing Mainz in the Bundesliga.
“I loved the intensity. It helped us a lot and put us in a pretty special mood. We used it for two or three years,” Klopp said in reference to his playing a recorded haka on the team bus speakers as they pulled into the venue on match days.
“I am always happy when I can hear it and especially live, it is a very interesting experience.”
This was the third time Liverpool have welcomed the Kiwis in.
We shall see if the New Zealand Rugby League presence pumped up the Reds and helped them reach higher this weekend. Liverpool takes on Arsenal in the Premier League weekend’s biggest match.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Lineups.com and Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.