Czyz received a visit from his friend, former Liverpool manager Klopp as he played against the tournament's second seed, Great Britain's Daniel Bethell. He was joined before the match by the former football manager, famous for his eight seasons at the helm of the popular English club. Klopp also stayed, watched the game and cheered him on from the stands.

It was interesting to see the coach, one of the most famous managers in the world, giving the spotlight to the German, with whom he has a long-standing friendship. Klopp tried to blend in with the crowd as much as possible, but of course he was impossible to miss. He didn't want to steal the limelight from the badminton player, who was unable to beat Bethell, losing 21-5, 21-2.

"I was standing next to Elena, his incredible wife, and we both had tears in our eyes," Klopp said after watching Czyz in comments reported by AP. "I couldn't be more proud of him. I know sport is all about results. However, just to see him on the pitch was so touching, I couldn't believe it," he said.

Czyz and Klopp were brought together through football many years ago in the now Paralympic badminton player's native Germany. Czyz was one of many young men chasing the dream of becoming a footballer. Klopp was a young coach already working in the second division. Czyz was unfortunate enough to suffer a serious injury in a match and his left leg had to be amputated.

Football took one of them to England and took the other around the world. However, they never lost touch. Czyz tried his hand at athletics and won medals in the Paralympic sport, but his restless nature kept driving him to try new things. He competed in Athens in 2004 before going on to Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012, where he won seven medals and four golds in the sprints and long jump.

"Wojtek is always doing things that I'm not brave enough to do. Yesterday he told me how easy it is to swim with sharks," Klopp told the journalists accompanying him and Czyz. Life took Czyz to New Zealand, where he was introduced to badminton, a sport in which, at the age of 44, he has achieved Paralympic status.

"Jürgen is like family to me. It was great to have him in my corner despite today's tough loss. We need people like Jürgen to keep the spotlight on us," he said.

Klopp's presence undoubtedly gave the event an extra edge and highlighted the importance of Paralympic sport, which is currently in the spotlight in Paris. Klopp was overwhelmed by the attention he received from journalists and fans, but he repeatedly stressed that he wanted the athletes to be the real stars. 

He attended the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games and called for Paralympic athletes to be given importance and media coverage not just every four years, but all the time.

His friend Czyz reiterated several times that it takes people like Klopp to give the sport that kind of prominence. For now, that dose of humanity has been delivered: the football coach has shared it with the world.