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Dejan Lovren: Jurgen Klopp sent Croatia hero text message after England World Cup win
DEJAN LOVREN revealed Jurgen Klopp spoke to him after Croatia's semi-final win over England.
The Liverpool star has faced criticism over the years after some questionable performances for the Reds.
But Lovren and his Croatian co-stars are enjoying national praise after guiding the small country to its first ever World Cup final this summer.
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And after the 2-1 win over England in midweek, the defender admitted Klopp sent him a congratulatory text message at full-time.
"He's [Klopp] proud of me and what I've achieved," Lovren told reporters.
"He knows what I went through.
"He's a good man.
Even in tough times he was always backing me up
"Even in tough times he was always backing me up.
"I appreciated that."
Croatia made it through to the final after beating Denmark, Russia and England all after extra time.
And despite failing to win any knockout game in normal time, Lovren believes Zlatko Dalic's side have warranted more respect this summer.
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"This feels incredible, especially after everything that was said about us before the game," he said after Thursday's win.
"We showed our character, we showed that we deserved to be in the final and people should respect us.
"Sometimes it is unfair.
"Before this game they said we are tired but we showed in extra-time we had fresher legs than them.
"Simple as that. The difference was mental."