Jurgen Klopp shows true colors by cheering on close friend at Paralympics

Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp rooted against Team GB on the first day of the Paralympics in Paris - but for good reason.

The 57-year-old German coach, who departed Anfield this summer, attended Thursday's badminton match to cheer on his long-time mate Wojtek Czyz.

Czyz, a former German national and four-time Paralympic athletics champion, now plays for his adopted country New Zealand in badminton and faced Britain's Daniel Bethell at La Chappelle Arena. His friendship with Klopp spans over two decades.

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Despite Klopp's support, Czyz suffered a 21-5, 21-2 loss to Bethell in Paris. His next match is against Oleksandr Chyrkov of Ukraine on Friday.

Czyz, who once aspired to be a footballer, had his left leg amputated following a knee injury from a collision with a goalkeeper in September 2001. This unfortunate incident happened during his last game for regional team VfR Grunstadt after he had signed professional terms with Fortuna Cologne.

The former sprinter and long jumper met Klopp, then manager of Mainz, in 2002 at a charity match while he was recovering. He moved to New Zealand and changed international allegiances after getting stranded there during the Covid-19 pandemic, having started a global tour on a catamaran with his wife, ex-Italian high jumper Elena Brambilla.

Czyz has created history as the first badminton player to represent the New Zealand Paralympic team. He clinched back-to-back Paralympic F42/F44 long jump titles at Beijing in 2008, and also bagged T42 100m and 200m gold at Athens in 2004.

Poland-born Czyz enjoyed a successful stint at the London 2012 Olympics, bagging a silver medal in long jump and bronze medals in both the 100m sprint and 4x100m relay.