It was captain Paul McGinley who famously called on former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson to provide some motivational wisdom for his European charges during the 40th Ryder Cup in 2014.
Yesterday, Liverpool season ticket holder and new European captain Darren Clarke told reporters that he was impressed by how quickly Jurgen Klopp has transformed the Mereseysiders' fortunes, and that he was keen to "pick his brains," suggesting a possible motivational role for the German in the 2016 setup. Clarke also hopes have Kenny Dalglish at his side in Hazeltine, and said that he too had reached out to Ferguson due to the latter's influence at Glen Eagles last time out.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the Irish Open, Rory McIlroy - a devout Manchester United fan - had a wry smile as he was asked as to whether he would welcome Klopp's involvement with this year's European crop:
I think Jurgen Klopp is great. His personality, his interviews, his energy - he's fantastic, so if Darren wants to get him in to try and help in some way it would be fantastic. It would be good to spend some time with him and a great thing for the team.
Last week, Clarke met with a number of Ryder Cup hopefuls during the Players Championship in Sawgrass and explained how he wanted his European team to adopt messages from Ireland's rugby anthem, 'Ireland's Call'. Clarke told reporters yesterday that he wants 'Shoulder to Shoulder' to become his team's mantra in the face of a hostile atmosphere and a supremely talented American side in Minnesota in September.
At his press conference today, Rory McIlroy thusly fielded a question which nominated Paul O'Connell as a suitable candidate to discuss or even enforce such a mantra within the team:
I spent a bit of time with Paul O'Connell in Barbados a couple of weeks ago. I had a really great chat with him one night over dinner about how professional he was, and his success in his career and everything like that.
I really enjoyed that, and I think if we were to get Paul in to talk about a few things, I think it could really benefit the team.
It remains to be seen as to whether Team Europe will put the fear of God into their American counterparts in the autumn, but it's certainly a prospect which, were it to come to fruition, would add to the already considerable legend of the Munster and Irish rugby great.
