Klopp, small shinpads and whether he really is boring - Milner in his own words

Asking James Milner to choose the one match from his career he would like to relive is not straightforward.

“- Published The Football Interview is a new series in which the biggest names in sport and entertainment join host Kelly Somers for bold and in-depth conversations about the nation's favourite sport”

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Not least because the Brighton midfielder has played in quite a few.

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Milner, 40, recently broke Gareth Barry's record for most Premier League appearances and has now taken his tally to 656.

He made his first-team debut for hometown club Leeds in November 2002, was once the Premier League's youngest goalscorer and is now its oldest.

In the interim, Milner has played for a string of big clubs and collected numerous trophies.

As part of dynasties at Manchester City and Liverpool, he won three Premier League titles, one Champions League, two FA Cups and one League Cup, as well as other honours.

In this week's Football Interview he tells Kelly Somers that one of his biggest achievements to date was to get back on the pitch this season after being sidelined for nine months after a knee operation that left him unable to lift his foot.

Kelly: Who was the best manager that you've played under?

James: It's tough because obviously it'll go back to Terry [Venables] and Sir Bobby [Robson] and you think, like, absolute legends.

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I'm so thankful to someone like Terry Venables who - in a team that wasn't doing particularly well - to have the confidence to stick a 16-year-old in.

You go through the years and then, you know, you're looking at someone like Jurgen [Klopp].

I think all-round, I'd have to say Jurgen in terms of as a man, as a character... how he improved me, what I learned from him, the relationship we had in terms of being able to say exactly what we thought and be taken in the right way... and knew that we were both 100% in everything that we did.

Kelly: Did that sometimes result in any clashes?

James: Yeah, now and then.

Not many.

But it was a clash that he knew that I wanted to win and he was the same.

We didn't have any big clashes.

He'd maybe tell me to shut up at times and things like that, but he knew I just wanted to help him and was frustrated in whatever way and things like that, and it was always done with respect.

Obviously, there were times you'd come in at half-time and expect a rocket and he was the opposite - he was really soft.

And other times you'd be on fire and playing really well and he'd come in and go mad over one little thing, just to keep you on your toes.

You know, 99% of the time he got it bang on, didn't he?

So, yeah, I think as an all-round manager, I think he was high level.

When he came in at Liverpool, we weren't by any means the favourites in the Premier League to win anything, so what he built there was special.

Kelly: What's one game - and I think we've established you've played a fair few - that you wish you could relive?

James: It's hard to do one.

I think the early… first goal at Elland Road, the Chelsea game.

I think reliving that as a Leeds fan and not being that old and not playing for Leeds that much longer, I'd love to experience that again.

And I'd probably say it has to be Barcelona I think in the semi-final [for Liverpool in the Champions League].

Obviously, losing heavily in the first leg against a world-class team like Barcelona.

And we had players missing on the night as well.

I think to be able to turn that around and win 4-0 was an incredible night and, yeah, I think that was probably the most special evening.