When the semi-final first leg of the Champions League between Liverpool FC and Villarreal begins this Wednesday (9 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Champions League and on DAZN), Divock Origi will probably sit where he usually sits when a game his team starts: on the substitutes' bench.

That may come as a surprise when you listen to your coach.

"Divock is a legend, on and off the pitch," says Jürgen Klopp.

"He's a world-class striker, he's our best finisher, no question.

Everyone loves Div (his nickname/ed.).

I'm very happy with him."

Tobias Rabe

Responsible editor for Sport Online.

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But why doesn't Klopp let him play much more often?

The answer is simple - and difficult for the player: Because others are a little bit better.

When you have a Mohamed Salah, a Sadio Mané, a Diogo Jota, a Roberto Firmino and a Luis Díaz in your squad, you have little reason to worry about quality up front.

Origi is just the fifth or sixth wheel on Liverpool Football Club's nifty sports car, which races past the competition.

But when Origi is needed, he's there: In the long-tenacious derby against Everton, he scored late on Sunday to make it 2-0.

So now Villarreal, the Bayern conqueror.

In any case, despite the tight schedule, Klopp is also in full swing on the home straight of the season.

In Dortmund he once promised full throttle events.

It shouldn't be any different in Liverpool.

"We have to fight like we haven't won in the last 12 years.

That's always the situation here," said the coach.

“It's something special to be part of the semi-finals.

It's crazy, a massive game.

So many coaches and players work their whole lives for it and never get a chance to get that close.

We have to enjoy this.”

How great the pleasure will be will be decided in Liverpool and a week later in Spain in the second leg.

The chance to win the quadruple is alive.

Klopp and Co. already have the League Cup, they are also in the FA Cup final against Thomas Tuchel and Chelsea on May 14th.

It is only one point in the English Premier League to leaders Manchester City.

He could also be opponents in the Champions League final if Liverpool and Pep Guardiola's team prevail.

In the first leg against Real Madrid there was a spectacular 4: 3 for City on Tuesday.

For Liverpool and Klopp, the duel in the semifinals is also a reunion with the past.

In the coach's first season in England, the two clubs met in a semi-final, in the Europa League.

In Spain, Villarreal won 1-0 and celebrated the victory like winning a title.

Klopp and his team were so motivated that they won the second leg 3-0.

The atmosphere on Anfield Road was special.

The subsequent final in Basel was still lost.

Liverpool lost 3-1 to Sevilla FC.

The winning coach: Unai Emery.

He is now at Villarreal and not only commands respect from Klopp because of his defeat in Switzerland almost six years ago.

Emery is Mr. European Cup.

He has won 84 percent of knockout duels with his teams in international competitions since 2010. Klopp remembers the 2016 defeat well. "It was hard to lose the game," he says now.

It was important that the club recovered quickly.

He did.

The Klopp era is very successful.

"You can't really compare it when there are six years between them," he says today.

Now the situation is different.

Liverpool is favourite.

Whether the "Reds" live up to the role could also come down to who has the best options on the bench, which brings Divock Origi back into play.

His contract expires in the summer and will probably not be extended.

AC Milan are considered interested in the 27-year-old Belgian.

Even before this season, Liverpool were ready to let him go.

Almost 18 million euros were called.

There was not an offer, which surprised not only Klopp.

Because Origi is a high-quality and robust striker in his prime, despite his short playing times, who has been learning in the tricky Premier League since 2015.

In the 2017/18 season, many may have forgotten, he played in the Bundesliga.

VfL Wolfsburg loaned him out for a season, ended up in relegation place 16 and also prevented relegation because Origi scored six goals in 31 games.

He then came back, but he did not get a permanent place in the starting XI.

Still, he loves Liverpool.

And Liverpool love him.

Despite his reservist role, he never spread a bad mood.

And when he played, he played well.

In any case, Andrew Robertson summed it up: He is looking forward to visiting the Divock Origi monument with his grandchildren.

Not a bad idea for Liverpool's best joker.