For many, he is one of the icons of old. But when the Europa League semi-final draw pitted Liverpool and Sparta Prague against each other, it was something special for the former Reds midfielder.
He started and ended his career in the Czech Republic in a red jersey. "I hold both clubs in my heart, but I do wish a little more for Liverpool," Berger admits in a wide-ranging interview with Livesport News.
Were you happy that Sparta's lot was awarded to Liverpool, or did you not want your two favourite clubs to clash?
"Before the draw, I discussed it with my son and we both felt that Sparta would get Liverpool. I'm happy about that. Obviously they are two clubs I have played at and experienced a lot. So it's a great draw for me, but I think it's also great for ordinary fans. Those Spartans will get to know Anfield, see (Jurgen) Klopp and a lot of great players. I'm excited about it."
The club has been struggling with the absence of star players lately, but it hasn't shown in the results so far. What kind of Liverpool do you think will come to Prague?
"Some of the guys are slowly coming back. I just read that Mohamed Salah has already started training, so he will be available in Prague. I don't think he will play from the start, but he will definitely get some part of the game. However, I have to say that when they played young, it was not noticeable at all. I was personally at the Carabao Cup final in London and those guys played a fantastic game. You couldn't see any diametric differences."
They've got the hang of it...
"In the academy, they prepare from a certain age just like the A's, so then when a kid gets into the first team, he knows exactly what to do in his position and he fits into the system beautifully, which was evident in the other games. The youngsters have shown that they can play against the best players in the world, so the future of the club is very well-settled. That's why I don't think anything will change."
After Sparta, Liverpool have a league showdown with Manchester City, followed by the FA Cup with Manchester United. Even a demanding schedule won't force Jurgen Klopp to spare any players?
"I don't think they set priorities and approach it accordingly. They want to win everything, so they don't look at what will happen after Sparta, on the contrary they go game by game. The first goal was to win the final against Chelsea and they did that. Now the next challenges will come. Moreover, (Darwin) Nunez, (Wataru) Endo, (Dominik) Szoboszlai are back, Salah is training, so Klopp's selection of players will expand again. And it's also important to mention that they don't take Sparta as a sure thing, on the contrary, they know very well that they are not bad at all. Those who have seen their games will notice that they play well, they play as a team, they score goals and their results have not been random."
Moreover, it's probably not even in Jurgen Klopp's mood to think like that. He'd rather say goodbye to as many trophies won as possible, wouldn't he?
"That would be a dream! I can't imagine what would happen there, because they already want to give him a farewell bus ride across town at the end of the season. That farewell will be huge even if Jurgen doesn't win anything else by the end of the season because he was one of the best and most successful coaches in Liverpool's history. But Klopp is a maximalist and he will ask the players to give everything in every competition and try to win everything."
You were at Liverpool a week ago - is there already a sense of melancholy about Klopp's impending exit?
"It's still early days. When it came out a lot of fans I know were bemoaning it. A lot of people thought it was fake news. Even the timing was strange. People wondered why they were coming out with it at the worst possible time when Liverpool are in the running for the most important trophies. In hindsight, you have to admit it was probably the right thing to do because the fans have come to terms with it and it's not even talked about as much now. No one is worried about someone new coming in after the season. Everybody is focused on the end of the season."
Who do you think should be the next Liverpool manager?
"I've seen about nine candidates who could be it, but for me Xabi Alonso is the hottest. But whoever comes to Liverpool after Klopp will find it terribly difficult. It's the same as when Sir Alex Ferguson ended up at United or Arsène Wenger ended up at Arsenal. A coach must come to Liverpool who will not copy Klopp but will have his own style and his own face. Xabi is exactly the right type in my opinion. He is doing a great job at Leverkusen. They don't have the same finances as Bayern, but he can pick the perfect players for his style and they play nice football. That's where I see a big similarity with Klopp - Liverpool also don't have the budget of Chelsea or City, but they can work well and pick players. Plus Xabi has played at the club, he knows the fans and the city, people like him there, which is important."
You've said before that the youngsters from the academy filled in well for the A-team stars, but with Mohamed Salah unavailable at the time, who did Liverpool stand on? Who was the key player?
"Virgil van Dijk has definitely stood out the most recently. The whole axis of the team fell out when Alisson, Salah, Trent (Alexander-Arnold), (Diogo) Jota and others were injured. The guys who were involved in the goals were playing in great form. And that's when Van Dijk took the banner and showed he was a huge pillar of the team. In the final against Chelsea, I felt like he didn't even break a sweat on the pitch, yet he won every duel, had every ball. He can play forward. He calmed the young boys down. He showed that he is rightly one of the best stoppers in the world."
What is known about Sparta in Liverpool?
"I've only spoken to a couple of English journalists, but I think Liverpool will take it that they're up against a quality opponent. You don't get to the eight-finals by chance anymore. And as I said - Sparta are playing good football. In the last two years, when coach Brian Priske has been with the team, they have started to play European modern football, which was not the case maybe three years ago. That was often hard to watch because they were not able to pass the ball ten times. Today, it's completely different. It was evident in the last derby, when even Slavia had respect for Sparta. They played in a completely different style than they are used to under Jindřich Trpišovský."
"Spartan football reminds me a bit of Liverpool. They try to play combinative on the ground already from the goalkeeper. They present themselves in a very team-like way, even though they have skilful individuals like Lukas Haraslín or Veljko Birmančević in their line-up. In the back they have Lada Krejci, who is the leader and engine of the team. Liverpool will not have it easy with them."
Are Haraslín and Birmančević or Krejci asking for an interesting transfer abroad?
"I don't know what the transfer policy is there. How much would Sparta even want to let such players go for, which ultimately could be an Achilles heel, because even if the boys are skilful and have the potential to play in European leagues, it could fall down on finances. But I have no doubt at all that they have what it takes and that they are being watched by foreign scouts. I wouldn't be surprised if offers come in for them."
In Krejci's case, there has been talk in the past of England, Germany and Spain. In your opinion, is he a player for the Premier League?
"Lada has kicked on and improved incredibly at Sparta. He has won everything he can with the club. He is 24 years old and would definitely like to try some competition abroad. Personally, I think it will be high time for him to make the move in the summer. And I think that the Spanish league might not be a bad league for him, because the Premier League is faster and even though Lada is a great footballer, he is not as fast as he would like. And there's not much you can do about that. Everybody's got speed in them. In Spain, with his positional play and strength on the ball, he would definitely be able to do it."
For a long time it was the other way around, with credit being given mainly to Slavia and Sparta being the ones who didn't play nice football, didn't have success at home or in Europe.
"I sometimes watch the Czech league or cup matches and I have to say that Priske and Rosa (Tomas Rosicky, etc.) have done an incredible job over the last two years. Rosa and I talked about it and he told me that they decided to make football more European and that's why they brought in a foreign coach."
And it was a hit, wasn't it?
"At the beginning the results were not ideal, but they trusted him and gave him space. He had an idea, brought in players, got rid of the ones that didn't fit and today you can see it all fitting together beautifully. They're playing nice football, which is nice to watch. They create chances, they score goals, I'm enjoying it."
Do you think it will be the same on Thursday?
"Liverpool will definitely have a harder time in Prague than in the rematch at Anfield. I don't have much idea what kind of lineup Klopp will put out, it will probably include young Bradley and Clark, I'm sure he'll want to bring in guys who are coming back from injury, so if Sparta want to get a good result they have to do it right away at Letná. I don't give them many chances at Anfield."
Does it still send shivers down one's spine when the stadium fills up and the anthem 'You'll Never Walk Alone' starts?
"Of course! I've spent quite a long time there as a player and even when I go there today as a fan I go up to the stands to listen to the anthem, hear the fans singing and I get goosebumps every time in the stands as well. On the other hand, for those guys in Sparta, this is exactly the moment they play football for. They want to compete with the best in the world, play in the most beautiful stadiums... They must all be aware that it might be the toughest game of their career, but they are still looking forward to the last member of the squad."
What kind of fan are you anyway? Do you experience the games a lot?
"Cool... (laughs) I mean, it's a double-header and I can't be disappointed after that. I played in Sparta from a young age, then I went back there at the end of my career. I spent seven years in Liverpool and had the biggest successes of my career there. I have both teams in my heart, but I admit that I wish a little bit more for Liverpool."
