Klopp's philosophy on players tested in Red Bull's unique challenge

Jurgen Klopp opines that top footballers balance skill with keeping the 'child inside' alive. He curated the Red Bull Ultimate Football Challenge, where stars like Neymar Jr., Endrick, and Szoboszlai tackled unique skill tests across three cities.

Red Bull's Head of Global Soccer, Jurgen Klopp considered among one of football's most respected analytical minds, opines that the best players have two qualities- exceptional skill and the ability to keep the child inside them alive. Klopp brought together top football stars for the Red Bull Ultimate Football Challenge, featuring a 15-metre sky challenge, giant treadmills, and a dazzling illuminated target wall, putting skill, precision, and stamina to the ultimate test.

In professional football, believes Klopp, that second quality is the hardest to hold onto. The Red Bull Ultimate Football Challenge was purpose-built to showcase the specific qualities that define each athlete's game.

In São Paulo, Neymar Jr. and challenge partner Sean Garnier faced an aerial control and touch challenge -- the qualities that have defined Neymar's career across clubs in Brazil, Europe, and Saudi Arabia, and the Brazilian national team.

In Bilbao, Endrick and Rios took on giant moving treadmills designed to test close control, movement, and finishing on a constantly shifting surface.

In Salzburg, Szoboszlai and challenge partner Nicolas Seiwald -- both products of the Red Bull Akademie, with Seiwald a local Salzburg talent -- faced a precision passing and penalty challenge built around the technical qualities that define their games at Liverpool and RB Leipzig respectively.

Former football legends Ze Roberto (Brazil, Bayern Munich), Thiago Alcantara (Spain, Barcelona), and Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany, Bayern Munich) guided the athletes through their respective challenges.

For the Red Bull Ultimate Football Challenge, Klopp assembled a team of top players -- Neymar Jr. (Brazil), Endrick (Real Madrid), Richard Rios (Benfica) and Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool) -- joined by freestyle footballer Sean Garnier and RB Salzburg's Nicolas Seiwald -- to take on a series of fun and creative skill challenges across São Paulo, Bilbao and Salzburg: from aerial precision suspended 15 meters above the pitch in Brazil, to giant moving treadmills testing close control and finishing in Spain, to an illuminated 94-target wall demanding pinpoint accuracy in Austria. The squad shared a single reserve of 100 balls across all three challenges. They finished with six.

Player and Coach Reactions

Jurgen Klopp said, "Nowadays, it's a big challenge for players to keep the kid inside alive. That's why we started the game, why we love the game so much. But here you can see, they still have it, they still enjoy it,"

Neymar said, "I thought it would be easier. But after I was up there, I was afraid, and I saw that it was harder than it looked. It's more because of the wind, how the ball comes, the ball changes direction a lot, so it makes it even more difficult for you to control it."

Dominik Szoboszlai said, "The penalties were the most difficult, but I think overall we worked well together with Nicolas. The challenge was huge, and I didn't know the first levels, so it was good to get guidance from Bastian. Overall, it was a hard session for me, but in the end, I only needed three balls to finish it."

Jurgen Klopp said, "They were all impressive, and the most impressive was definitely the pass from Endrick on the treadmill. Richard just controlled it with the first touch and scored. I didn't think that was possible. The control was exceptional."

Performance Overview

Neymar and challenge partner Sean Garnier opened Challenge 1 at Mercado Livre Arena Pacaembu in São Paulo, a test of the aerial control and touch that have defined Neymar's career, suspended 15 metres (49 ft.) in the air on a platform, catching and returning balls at varying heights before controlling, juggling and striking into a mini goal held at 20 metres (65 ft.) above the ground.

Neymar Jr. used 22 of the shared 100 balls to complete Challenge 1, leaving 78 for Endrick, Rios, and Szoboszlai across the remaining two locations.

Endrick and Rios took on Challenge 2 in Bilbao, a test of close control, movement, and finishing under pressure, navigating custom-built giant treadmills moving at varying speeds and directions, covering a cone slalom, a rolling penalty at a moving target, and a blind cross over a 3-metre (10 ft.) wall that Rios finished on first touch.

Szoboszlai and challenge partner Nicolas Seiwald faced Challenge 3 in Salzburg, a test of precision passing and penalty technique, against a 9-metre structure featuring 94 illuminated target zones before reaching a moving penalty shootout.

Entering the final stage with 9 balls remaining, Szoboszlai completed the penalty challenge using three.

The squad completed all challenges within the shared reserve, finishing with 6 balls to spare. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)