Anyone fancy copying and pasting the article from this? Behind the paywall for me due to using free article:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/04/05/Jürgen-klopp-liverpool-perfect-pair-just-getting-started/
Just can't stop reading, thinking, talking, salivating about last night
It was an evening to underline why Liverpool chose so well with Jurgen Klopp.
It was also an evening to underline why Jurgen Klopp chose so well with Liverpool.
With Klopp and Liverpool we witness emotional volatility blended with immense talent, harnessed to such potency even the most luminous opponent is dimmed.
The manner of victory over Manchester City was what The Kop fantasised when Klopp was lured from holiday 30 months ago, why supporters were tracking his flight path from Germany and – in their own minds – lining the streets of Anfield as his vehicle made its first passage through the Shankly Gates.
Admirers often ask what is Liverpool’s secret. How is it they – certainly more than any club in England – are able to regularly generate such nights, even during relatively barren periods of their history?
Liverpool thrives when there is synergy between the manager and The Kop, and when the ghosts of the past are deployed to terrorise the opponent rather undermine the hosts. The man in charge has to be more than a tactician.
He must respect nostalgia with a modern twist; he must be the embodiment of the values of the supporters in order to galvanise them, to make them trust, listen and believe every proclamation worthy of inclusion on the next banner.
Here is a case in point. It is hard to imagine another club, certainly in this country, where the fanbase is so fascinated by the liberal leanings of their coach.
When Klopp expressed his views on Brexit to Telegraph Sport last week, it felt as reassuring to the local fans as when he finally completed the signing of Virgil Van Dijk.
Are fans of Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City so besotted with the political allegiance of their manager? It is another of those Anfield idiosyncrasies in a city where football can be a vehicle for radical expression. With respect to my own employers, no Tory can sit comfortably in the Anfield dug-out (or certainly no-one admitting to be such).
Klopp’s attitudes and success energising Borussia Dortmund made him the perfect fit and he obviously presumed Anfield would be this way. Although it is doubtful he will ever admit it publicly, there must have been some concerns in those early months.
The stadium was going through a period of sedation when he made his first appearance against Southampton in October, 2015 and it is often still too quiet for mid-table visitors. The manager has regularly felt compelled to demand more.
The Europa League run of 2016 brought reassurance. Klopp said the scenes around the comeback against Dortmund that season eclipsed anything he had experienced in Germany.
“Wait until you get this team in the Champions League knockout stage then,” was the response.
He was correct to be moderate in his post-match appraisal after the City win – there is still much to be done - but should his side complete the job he will have another meaningful reference point for future fixtures on this scale.
Moreover, Klopp will reflect on the impact of Anfield and feel his instinct validated when spurning others and waiting for Liverpool to come after his brief break from the game.
Liverpool is a major club like no other. There is pressure, but no time-scale for success. When some commentators randomly spurt out banalities like ‘he has done well, but he must win a trophy’ they presume the manager has been set an imposing deadline that does not exist.
This is because at any other grand institution worthy of Klopp’s wisdom – Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich – the idea you could go three years without a trophy and still have boardroom and fans desperate to ensure you hang around for another four is inconceivable.
Klopp will go another season without the Premier League title, but there is perspective and recognition for how far he has taken the team rather than question marks against his ability to eventually deliver it.
The Kop waves flags
Anfield was in full voice for the visit of Manchester City on Wednesday Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Should Liverpool win the Champions League, despite the considerable investment in the team and plentiful resources at Klopp’s disposal, it will still be perceived as defying the odds against superpowers more established and accustomed to recent success.
Where else in world football could Klopp have this? Especially when he looks at Antonio Conte, on the verge of losing his job a year after winning the title. Or Jose Mourinho, admired but broadly unloved even in his own arena(s). No wonder many of the Liverpool’s manager’s peers feel envy for the patience and support afforded.
There is a lingering suspicion that Bayern have not given up on Klopp. That they are yet to confirm who will be in charge at The Allianz Arena next season because they have privately been sending feelers in the Liverpool manager’s direction to such extent his own representative issued what could be interpreted as the kind of ‘we’re flattered, it’s not the right time, but keep in touch’ message once sent to Fenway Sports Group before Brendan Rodgers was appointed.
Mercifully for Liverpool, Klopp has reassured it will be a while longer before German fans are scrutinising the trajectory of his flight home.
The most thrilling aspect of Liverpool’s win last night was not simply the demonstration of how far Klopp has already led his club, but the feeling there is so much further to go.
