Outspoken coach Raymond Verheijen responds furiously to criticism from Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp

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Verheijen and Klopp are disagreeing once again, but does the Dutchman make a good point about Klopp’s training methods?

Outspoken fitness coach Raymond Verheijen has responded furiously on Twitter to stinging criticism from Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.

The Dutchman has publicly criticised the methods of the former Dortmund coach in recent months, blaming a spate of injuries on Klopp’s high-tempo gameplan and intense training methods.

Verheijen slammed the German’s treatment of Philippe Coutinho in January after the Brazilian talisman suffered a hamstring injury, according to the Daily Star, quipping:

“Sad to see the muscle injuries accumulating at Liverpool FC after Jurgen Klopp arrived. Sad but very predictable.

“Hopefully, the next generation of coaches will learn from these obvious mistakes by the current generation of coaches. Let’s raise the bar!”

However, Klopp was first to bat this time around, aiming a subtle dig at Verheijen when discussing English football’s notoriously strenuous festive fixture list.

“We play two games in 48 hours [at Christmas], there will be injuries and then some Dutch guy [Verheijen] will say things,” Klopp said, according to the Liverpool Echo.

And, never likely to miss an opportunity to make his opinion heard, the former Wales coach responded almost immediately on Twitter, suggesting that the stats back up his relentless criticisms.

This is not the first time Verheijen has publicly lambasted the coaching methods of English clubs, having criticised the work of Mauricio Pochettino, called David Moyes a ‘dinosaur’, and accused Antonio Conte of overworking his players to the point of burnout.

Consequently, Verheijen has long-been presented as something of a Mary Whitehouse figure in English football but, having been handpicked by the likes of Barcelona, Chelsea and Manchester City, and having worked as personal coach to Arjen Robben at Bayern Munich, he certainly knows a thing or two about fitness and conditioning.