Jurgen Klopp - The Normal One who brought Liverpool back to glory
Since he’s arrived at Anfield (October 2015) and in just few years, Jurgen Klopp made an amazing team for the Reds taking the team to the ultimate glory and being the nightmare for any club coming to Anfield. In one of his press conferences he described himself as “The Normal One” and for all Liverpool supporters now he is the one who changed the team style and one of Liverpool’s all-time great managers.
The graph above represents the winning history of Jurgen Klopp with Liverpool, Mainz and Dortmund. Klopp achieved 60.5% during the past 5 years with Liverpool (by winning 155 games out of 256).
Klopp before Liverpool
Mainz 05
After he’s finished his playing career for Mainz 05, Klopp was appointed as the club’s manager in February 2001 following the previous manager Eckhard Krautzun.
On his first season with Mainz, the club finished 11th in their first two seasons top-flight in 2004/2005 and 2005/2006. He secured joining UEFA Cup for Mainz 05, although they were knocked out in the first round by the Spanish club Sevilla. At the end of the 2006/2007 season.
Although having the smallest budget and the smallest stadium in the league, Klopp resigned at the end of the 2007/2008 season He finished with a record of 109 wins, 78 draws and 83 losses.
Borussia Dortmund
In May 2008, Klopp was selected by on of the top German’s clubs to become the new manager of Borussia Dortmund. Despite having interest from the other German champions Bayern Munich, Klopp eventually signed a two-year contract at the club.
Once he’s arrived to lead Borussia Dortmund, he found the club finished in a disappointing 13th place under previous manager Thomas Doll. He achieved a lot and had an impressive seven-year stay with Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League.
After this an amazing stay with Borussia and Klopp announced that he would leave Borussia Dortmund at the end of the 2014/2015 season. He said: “I really think the decision is the right one. This club deserves to be coached from the 100% right manager”. Also, he added: “I chose this time to announce it because in the last few years some player decisions were made late and there was no time to react”. And after that he signed a 3 years contract with Liverpool.
Klopp with the Reds
On 8 October 2015, Klopp signed with Liverpool FC to become the manager of the Reds as a replacement for the previous manager Brendan Rodgers. a contract 3 years long to become Liverpool manager after the manager Brendan Rodgers.
Jurgen Klopp described Liverpool once he arrived to Anfield saying “it is not a normal club; it is a special club. I had two very special clubs with Mainz and Dortmund. It is the perfect next step for me to be here and try and help”.
In the first season 2015/2016 Klopp struggled during the process of building the team yet he achieved his first Premier League win against Chelsea (3–1 away victory).
He guided Liverpool to their first League Cup Final in February 2016. But Liverpool lost the game at Wembley to Manchester City on penalties. And after that he and his coaching staff signed six-year extensions to their deals keeping them at Liverpool until 2022.
The ultimate success happened in 2018/2019 in which did a brilliant garnering of a club-record 97 points finishing second in the Premier League only one point behind Manchester City.
In addition to that, Klopp formed a wonderful team consist of Alisson Becker as a goalkeeper with Andrew Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Dejan Lovren solving the defence problem for the Reds. In addition to that, the presence of Mohmed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino formed a strong partnership at the heart of Liverpool’s attack.
As a result, Klopp managed to reach the first UEFA Champions League Final since 2007 in 2018 after beating Manchester City and Roma. But the Reds went on to lose in the final 3–1 to Real Madrid.
Klopp winning the champions League
After losing the final against Real Madrid, Liverpool came back to the final at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid against Tottenham Hotspur. The Reds won 2 – 0 goals scored by: Mohamed Salah and Origi, giving Klopp his first trophy with Liverpool.
Klopp said on his Champions League triumph with Liverpool in 2018/19:
“For me, football is the only thing more inspiring than the cinema. You wake up in the morning, and the magic was all real”.
After that, he guided Liverpool to their first FIFA Club World Cup trophy, with victory over Flamengo in the final. Also, Klopp got the UEFA Super Cup that year by beating Chelsea in the final 5–4 on penalties.
Klopp winning the Premier League 2019/20
After losing the Premier League 2018/19 to Manchester City by only one point, Liverpool came back to win the Premier League 2020/21. The season was absolutely historic for the Reds after a 30-year wait to achieve the League title. By this winning, Liverpool got the 19th top-flight title which’s their first since 1989/90.
What did they say about Jurgen Klopp?
The Reds’ star said about Klopp’s style of playing football:
“His secret, I think, is to be the team’s dad. Between us, everything clicked straight away. We all love him like a father, and we fear him like one too”.
“He takes up a lot of space in my life, and not just in football. He’s great as a person. I trust him blindly, like most of the dressing room, I think”.
Virgil van Dijk
The best defender in the world 2018/2019 said on the boss:
“I have a very similar connection with Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool as I had earlier with Ronald Koeman at Southampton. Like Koeman, Klopp knows exactly how to get the best out of me – by being critical”.
“When the media are hyping me and being very positive, he will downplay the praise and all that—often with a wink. And when I was voted UEFA Player of the Year and had to go to the ceremony, Jurgen told all the lads that I was picking up the trophy on behalf of the entire team”.
“All the boys in the squad know I can take that sort of stuff very well. I know what he means. At the same time, the boss gives me a lot of respect and responsibility’.
Klopp Honours with Liverpool
- UEFA Champions League 2019
- The Coach of the Year (FIFA Football Awards 2019)
- European Super Cup 2019
- FIFA Club World Cup 2019
- Premier League 2019/20
Jurgen Klopp Personal info
- Full name: Jürgen Norbert Klopp
- Birthdate: 16 June 1967
- Birthplace: Stuttgart
- Signed for LFC: 8 October 2015
