At the weekend, Jurgen Klopp made an unusual journey to observe a different squad in play that included a Liverpool loanee and another who was making his debut.
Klopp rarely has the luxury of traveling to watch a different team because of his busy schedule as the manager of one of the greatest clubs in the world.
Most of the time, he watched other games from the comfort of his house or the analysis room at the AXA Training Center.
But on Saturday, Klopp visited Mainz once more to take part in a ceremony to say goodbye to the Sudtribune stand at the German team’s previous stadium, the Bruchwegstadion.
While there, he attended Mainz’s mid-season friendly against third-tier team MSV Duisburg, in which Sepp van den Berg, on loan from Liverpool, started and played for 84 minutes in front of more than 4,000 spectators who said goodbye to the Sudtribune. Van den Berg is still playing games following an injury.
Five additional loanees also played in competitive matches, with goalkeeper Jakub Ojrzynski of Den Bosch making his long-overdue debut.
The 20-year-old signed with Eerst Divisie team Den Bosch at the beginning of August, but he failed to make an appearance in any of his first four matches because he is now second-choice goalkeeper Joey Roggeveen.
Harvey Davies, though, enjoyed greater success at Crewe, where the goalkeeper contributed to a standout performance in a 4-1 victory over Forest Green Rovers.
