Former Liverpool defender Brad Smith has no hard feelings toward Jurgen Klopp despite being offloaded by the German manager.
Klopp had only been at Anfield for six months when he decided to end Smith's eight-year spell with the club. The left-back had seen little Premier League action under Klopp's predecessor, Brendan Rodgers, after rising through the ranks of Liverpool's academy.
Yet it was under Klopp that Smith finally got his shot at first-team soccer, although their initial rapport was somewhat rocky. Back in late 2015, Klopp was still getting to grips with a Liverpool squad brimming with potential but not quite at the level he envisioned to end the trophy drought.
And Smith, at the time, was one of the less conspicuous figures in the team. "We played in Sion on a frozen pitch (in December 2015)," Klopp told The Telegraph last year as he looked back upon his time at Anfield. "I learned a day before that we had Brad Smith and he stood right next to me in training, and it was too embarrassing to ask him who he was."
Klopp's candid revelation is all the more startling given that Smith had set up Divock Origi for a goal in a League Cup quarterfinal thrashing of Southampton just a few days earlier.
Moreover, shortly after Klopp took the reins, Smith secured a new long-term contract, having previously been registered but without a formal contract.
Brad Smith played under Klopp at Liverpool
Brad Smith played under Klopp at Liverpool (Image: Getty Images)
Toward the end of the 2015/16 season, the Australian made more appearances under Klopp. He soon departed Liverpool's pre-season tour in the United States to join Bournemouth, yet he holds high regard for his former mentor.
"Every time I go back there with Bournemouth, he'll give me a big Klopp hug and we'll have a little chat," said Smith in 2019. "He's a great manager and I owe a lot to him.
"A great man. He just said, 'I think it's your time to go out and spread your wings and do what you need to do.' I owe a lot to Klopp for kind of bringing me back in and giving me a chance. He kind of shot my career up."
Smith, now 31, ventured to Major League Soccer in 2018 after a loan with the Seattle Sounders.
By 2020, he had made a permanent move to the club, followed by stints at DC United and the Houston Dynamo.
Now plying his trade with FC Cincinnati since March, the full-back has grown fond of life in the MLS. It was Klopp's encouragement that gave him the lift needed for Bournemouth to snap him up.
Klopp parted ways with other seasoned players during the summer of 2016, as Martin Skrtel, Kolo Toure, and Jose Enrique also exited the Merseyside club.
As Klopp began to imprint his vision at Anfield, these departures set the stage for future glories, including Premier League and Champions League triumphs.
On the first anniversary of Klopp's departure from Liverpool, Smith's story serves as a testament to the kind of relationships he fostered with his players, whether they were superstars or not. Even if he didn't recognise them at the time.