Meet the opposition: Greuther Furth
Liverpool will take on Greuther Furth in the second and final friendly fixture of their pre-season training camp in Germany on Monday.
Having begun their schedule by beating Karlsruher SC 4-2, the Reds next face the 2. Bundesliga outfit in a 12pm BST kick-off that will be played behind closed doors but shown live on LFCTV and LFCTV GO.
Here, we take a closer look at the opposition…
Greuther Furth finished in 12th place in 2. Bundesliga in 2022-23. They appointed Alexander Zorniger, former boss of RB Leipzig and Stuttgart, among others, as manager in October 2022.
Their captain, Branimir Hrgota, was their top scorer in the league last season with 11 goals and was often found at the tip of their midfield diamond. Like Liverpool, they get creativity from their defenders, with right-back Simon Asta their top assist provider with six.
Greuther’s most successful era occurred prior to the formation of the Bundesliga. They were champions of Germany in 1914, 1926 and 1929 but in recent times have only enjoyed a pair of one-season stints in the top flight, in 2012-13 and 2021-22.
Their best performance in the cup holds fond memories for Jürgen Klopp. Greuther reached the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal in 2011-12 but were beaten by Borussia Dortmund thanks to a 120th-minute goal from Ilkay Gundogan.
Klopp’s side went on to beat Bayern Munich in the final, completing a double with the Bundesliga title that season. The Liverpool manager also faced Greuther back in his playing days, scoring in a 3-0 victory on the opening weekend of the 1998-99 campaign.
Gerald Asamoah, a forward who earned 43 caps for Germany, represented Greuther, as did former Chelsea defender Baba Rahman. Meanwhile, Malik Tillman, who started his career in the Greuther academy, played for Rangers at Anfield last season in the Champions League.
- Watch Liverpool’s pre-season clash with Greuther Furth live on LFCTV and LFCTV GO on Monday. Subscribe to LFCTV GO now and get a month free using the code GOFREE23.
