Topic: Jürgen Klopp

[SuperStevieNicol]

I'm emotional already but also comfortably accepting that we had the best of him in every sense. I would put him on a par with Fergie for his overall influence and status at a club. I've been going to Anfield for over 35 years and he's given me some of the greatest days and nights I have ever experienced and managed to secure some of the best players to ever play for our club. Legend isn't enough.

[Kenny's Jacket]

Something about living on Merseyside really appeals to the better halves of our great managers. Montse could have moved to Madrid or the Amalfi coast with Rafa and said 'Nah, you're grand, I'll stay here'.

They get a view of North Wales, who could leave that behind

[Ray K]

You can tell that despite the smiles he's still absolutely steaming about the Rodri handball against Everton.

[Kenny's Jacket]

You can tell that despite the smiles he's still absolutely steaming about the Rodri handball against Everton.

   Hes not alone on that one.

[Crosby Nick]

Fucking hell, 9 years??? What the hell man...

Always knew Samie was a wrong ‘un.

I'd be ecstatic with both but I'd like Ancelotti. 

[meady1981]

He’s definitely made football on a whole just about palatable for me to be interested still. He’s made me be able to accept the farce that is Man City as a gross machine to fight against. Even when we lost out to them. In fact, that ‘club’ have made me more proud of him than I already can be for what he’s been up against in them. With him gone, that’s all going to go I’m afraid. City’s destruction of the game will become even more apparent. It’s going to be so sterile, City’s ultimate aim. No next manager, however successful, will be able to match the moral and social stance that he brought to the club and the fight against all the shit that surrounds it.

I feel like this is the end for me, because without him, there’s not a lot i still like about this game of ours.

[So… Howard Philips]

https://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=323318.0

Memories.

Now it has come to an end.

All of those advocating for Ancelloti, a top manager by the way, would have been shocked and dismayed to see him at Goodison. 

[oojason]

'More than a manager – the definitive history of Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool' - by Paul Joyce:-

Leader, legend, hugger… the German delivered trophies but also inspired murals, hero worship and even had a pub named after him. He didn’t just reawaken a club – he created a movement

www.thetimes.co.uk/sport/football/article/jurgen-klopp-liverpool-manager-definitive-history-jd9hgj50p - or in full & free, here: https://archive.ph/SfnWv

[Samie]

https://twitter.com/LFC/status/1790662916674351196

Our official beer partner @Carlsberg will be auctioning 491 bottles of ‘Believers Brew’, one for each competitive game Jürgen Klopp oversaw as the Reds boss!

All proceeds will be donated to @LFCFoundation to be used to fund programmes for over-18s only

Video
https://twitter.com/LFC/status/1790660954193121350

[lobsterboy]

  Hes not alone on that one.

Tierney and Kavanagh. No surprise it wasn't given.
Bent as always.

[Daniel Cabbaggio]

What a fucking man.

Will be gutting to see him go

[PIPA23]

We should celebrate it happened.

What he achieved with the circumstances is a miracle.

He is only a human and needs rest. We were blessed and I am sure he will stay close to the club forever.

For me he is the best manager ever.

[PaulF]

They get a view of North Wales, who could leave that behind

Is that an old fa cup they're growing flowers in?

[rob1966]

Just watching the interview with TAW on you tube, its obvious from the first few minutes he just wants a life outside of football now. He just wants to be normal and spend his money.

[Mister Flip Flop]

Just watching the interview with TAW on you tube, its obvious from the first few minutes he just wants a life outside of football now. He just wants to be normal and spend his money.

And i hope he enjoys every minute of it. He's earned the right to do as he pleases.

[rob1966]

And i hope he enjoys every minute of it. He's earned the right to do as he pleases.

Hope so too, well earned.

He's got no time for crying faced c*nts neither, so he'd hate a lot of posters on here

[Fiasco]

It won't feel real until Slot takes over but it'll be hard to ever feel the same way about a manager than I do about Klopp. I'm still gutted beyond belief he's going but I hope our paths will cross one day again, even if in a non-footballing role that doesn't involve much other than offering an opinion on a player or whatever else. He's transformed us beyond belief and he deserves to spend his money and live his life with his family without the stress of what the job does.

Thanks again Jurgen lad. You were everything we hoped you'd be and more.

[kop306]

slot beating 7 up is top of my bucket list for next season

[only6times]

When he came to us, Davek, that rancid, bitter twaygat on Grand Old Scream, called Jurgen, "The Cliff Barnes of football" . Well, Davek, I will take great pleasure in knowing that you booted doors in your house and threw cups at walls when "Cliff goosed Sue Ellen" .

[sheepfest]

When he came to us, Davek, that rancid, bitter twaygat on Grand Old Scream, called Jurgen, "The Cliff Barnes of football" . Well, Davek, I will take great pleasure in knowing that you booted doors in your house and threw cups at walls when "Cliff goosed Sue Ellen" .

[only6times]

It's been boss hanging flags from windows in May and clocking the gurning blue grids muttering "Red Sh#te" under their breath.

[jonkrux]

Finally feeling real that this man is leaving. Thank you for all the memories Jurgen, the best I've had in football terms in my 33 years.

Been through the fucking ringer personally over the last few years, this club, these players and this man has made it just a little easier.

Hero.

[RedDeadRejection]

Struggling with him leaving. The happiest days of my life happened around the time he joined. The years have got harder. But he was a constant. A distraction. Gonna really miss him.

[ChaChaMooMoo]

I feel indifferent. Its more like a numbness. I dont know if its normal.

But all I can say is ..

Thanks for the memories Jürgen.
From Mainz to Dortmund to Liverpool.
You gave us the chance to dream again. And the opportunity to experience them.
You'll never walk alone. Gonna miss seeing you.
Boss.

[meady1981]

Whenever we went through a rough spell, I literally just had to think he’s our boss and I felt fine about it. When we lost 7-2 to Villa, as soon as he did his post match I thought ahhhhhhhh, Jurgen. I doubt that kind of level of serenity in adversity will happen again.

[NickoH]

I would simply like to shake his hand, look into his eyes and say 'thank you'

[PaulF]

I feel a bit sorry/sad for the players and fans of whoever we're playing on Sunday.
I can't imagine what the atmos would be like if we were playing for the title.

[Ray K]

John Oliver getting a bit emotional talking about the boss

https://x.com/MenInBlazers/status/1790753456682103094

[PhilV]

urgh... feels like a loved one is leaving...


I would love to hug this man. Legit.


Thank you for everything you've done for this great club, Jürgen.

[jillcwhomever]

There will be a number of these articles over the next few days. Miguel Delaney's take.

https://t.co/CLMSU3jWh8

[stevieG786]

I'm not ready for Sunday  :'(

[Ray K]

Trophies are important but Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool legacy is about so much more

As Klopp prepares to exit the Anfield stage for the final time, Miguel Delaney reflects on the German bringing emotion and joy back to Liverpool fans, which is far more valuable than any on-field success

After all the sound, there’s no fury. There’s only a peace. As Jurgen Klopp departs Liverpool, he has no real regrets. He’s literally won everything, even if there could have been more. There’s a bigger debate about the latter but, even within that, a point has been proven.

When Liverpool’s ownership were seeking to rebuild the club over the 2012-15 period, they gradually modernised every department until they had one of the best recruitment systems in the game. That could take them so far, as we saw in 2013-14 when Brendan Rodgers guided them to second in the Premier League – two points behind champions Manchester City. It just couldn’t take them all the way, not to what Liverpool were. There was still an element missing.

That was something that remains immutable in football, no matter how much the game evolves. Liverpool still needed a charismatic and transformational genius manager to bring it all together. This was the alchemy amid all the scientific analysis. This isn’t to say nobody can succeed without that but it makes an immense difference. And Klopp genuinely made an immense difference, not least to people’s lives.

It’s also important to recognise what English football is losing, too. One of the game’s great figures is departing the stage.

That alone is simply poignant, the passing of an era. It also points to what Klopp is most about and what he will be most remembered for. That is emotion; making people feel something again.

This is something that is easy to scoff at but is arguably more important than any trophy. Klopp brought the joy back. Has there ever been a period when Liverpool fans enjoyed going to games as much? They went to every single match with anticipation and expectation, no matter the circumstances. That could be the 4-0 comeback against Barcelona, which is now his signature match, or any random league game against a bottom-half club. By 2018, nobody was laughing about the moment after a 2-2 home draw with West Brom when he got the players to salute the crowd. That may have been an act but it evidently wasn’t an empty gesture. It was about deepening an emotional connection that would serve the team in moments like Barcelona or so many other fightbacks.

Klopp didn’t just restore a seriousness to Liverpool. He restored a joy, a feeling. That accomplishment is genuinely up there with reclaiming the league title after 30 years as one of his biggest acts, even if securing the Premier League crown will remain his signature achievement.

The other side of that emotion is that it could evolve into something else, that was much less deserving of celebration. Klopp could be absolutely cutting with people, in a way that went against the initial bear-hug image. That was the case with players, staff and even media. Klopp was capable of saying things that could really hurt.

The brutal reality of elite sport, however, is that this is pretty much the case with all high achievers. They don’t get that far without being somewhat ruthless. That isn’t to excuse it but to acknowledge the reality. It’s also true that, even allowing for his outbursts, Klopp was generally seen as one of the more “normal” elite managers. A much more human touch was seen in how comfortable he was in situations with fans who were ill or had been through tough life experiences. Klopp is extremely natural in such situations.

Such emotion has also totally disproved a barbed line once said about the German himself, by one of his peers. In the summer of 2016, as the Premier League celebrated the “league of great managers”, one top European coach was utterly derisive about Klopp. “He’s won nothing,” the rival said. “The only two leagues he won with Borussia Dortmund were because Bayern Munich were s*** at that time.”

There was then the most brutal put-down of all. “He’s just a motivator.”

That has been thoroughly discredited. Klopp is a motivator but that psychological insight is the virtue that amplifies all of his other abilities to take teams well beyond their expected performance levels. That’s the source of so many improbable comebacks. That’s the source of 97, 99 and 93-point seasons.

The base was still strong, and sophisticated. Liverpool went from a classic Klopp gegenpressing team to one with many more dimensions. There was even a spell, arguably stretching from six months to 18, where they looked close to unbeatable. Liverpool first hounded you into submission and, if you got out of that, the ball was being popped back for a talent like Sadio Mane or Mohamed Salah to provide the divinely creative touches.

By that point, around 2018-19, Klopp’s Liverpool had inevitably developed elements of Pep Guardiola’s pressing and possession game. That is something that inevitably happens with rivalries, as they rub off on each other. There is a historic irony to it, though, given that Klopp could be seen as the anti-Guardiola and Liverpool as the anti-Man City.

This has been the rivalry that has characterised the most recent Premier League era and Klopp’s time in the job. It was also a dichotomy imbued with all manner of other strands and narratives, not least how you resist state projects and what constitutes “success”.

There are considerable ironies to that, too, since Liverpool are a member of the game’s establishment and their owners are venture capitalists ultimately looking to exploit the sport by making money out of it. Fenway Sports Group are hardly some force for good in football. This is the modern game though and it is about degrees.

Klopp has won every trophy and yet, at the same time, has probably been the greatest casualty of what City have become under Sheikh Mansour’s ownership as a state project. If they weren’t around, Klopp would have at least three league titles with huge points totals, to go with the club’s sixth Champions League. It would be one of the great glory eras, this Liverpool seen as one of the great teams – with no debate about what they should have won.

One caveat is that City’s levels may have actually helped lift Liverpool up so far. Klopp knew what was required. It was one major reason why there were such drop-offs in 2020-21 and 2022-23. Most teams can’t indefinitely sustain such levels. Something has to give. It’s exhausting – as the man himself will attest. Klopp might also reasonably argue that, if they didn’t have to go so intensely in the league, they might have had a better chance in the Champions League, too.

The Premier League isn’t just losing one of its great figures, it is losing one of the individuals that kept it alive over the last few years. If you remove Klopp’s Liverpool, a lot of those league tables would be a joke, characterised by the sort of points gaps that turn people off. It’s why some at Anfield are quietly pleased that Arsenal now understand the difficulty of competing with this version of City.

This is where the wider debate arises about how much Klopp has won. Although he is criticised in some quarters for “only” winning one league, the German’s greatest legacy should be that he is the only manager to beat City to the title once Guardiola started winning.

It is immense overachievement, as directly symbolised by those points totals.

And so we come to another caveat. City’s alleged breaches of the Premier League’s Financial Fair Play rules weigh over everything. Klopp may well be more invested than most in the eventual outcome, since it could cause a re-interpretation of his entire era.

Regardless of what result the court system belatedly spits out, there should be no interpretation of Klopp’s legacy other than him being considered one of the great, elite managers and a great football figure. His achievements stand for themselves. He won Liverpool’s sixth Champions League and first in 14 years. He won Liverpool’s 19th top-flight title, first in the Premier League era and first for 30 years. All of that produced more memories and great occasions than many clubs have in their entire histories. It’s an old and hackneyed line but it’s never been truer than here. He made the people happy.

As for the lessons, maybe there aren’t many since Klopp is inimitable. It points to the reality that clubs like Liverpool shouldn’t actually try and directly replace someone like him. They shouldn’t imbue a manager with so much power until they have proven they are right for the club. Those at Anfield have at least realised that. They have restructured the football hierarchy so that Arne Slot is just a head coach.

[BarryCrocker]

Great to see PGMOL sending Kavanagh (Ref) & Coote (VAR) over to Anfield to say goodbye to Jurgen.

[Crosby Nick]

Great to see PGMOL sending Kavanagh (Ref) & Coote (VAR) over to Anfield to say goodbye to Jurgen.

That’s actually hilarious. They’ve all been queuing up to have one last pop at Jurgen haven’t they!

Jill and Ray - thanks for sharing that article. Obviously a lot of the nuance will be ignored by the banter merchants but think it stuck a good tone.

[redgriffin73]

Great to see PGMOL sending Kavanagh (Ref) & Coote (VAR) over to Anfield to say goodbye to Jurgen.

I'd say it's unbelievable but it's absolutely not

[Qston]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/may/16/liverpool-jurgen-klopp-fans-anfield

[TheMan]

I have two children. My son is 7. My daughter is 9. Klopp was appointed just over 8 and a half years ago. I know I am doing the Nick Hornby Fever Pitch thing of comparing my life with football seasons here, but the last 8 and a half years have probably been the toughest of my life. To escape from the turmoil I always had our next fixture to look forward to. And I did look forward to it, mainly because of Jurgen Klopp and how he infused something in his teams that maybe I was lacking - passion, energy, purpose, belief, commitment and willingness to risk. I loved watching his teams. Yes, we won some trophies, but more than that I loved experiencing the journey with him. It give me back a sense of what was possible. Watching his teams was a kind of sanctuary for me. I know this is too sentimental, and I know I am probably extrapolating ridiculously but it meant an awful lot to me. I don't think I will get that feeling again and I just want to thank him for those moments of consolation.

[GinKop]

I'm not ready for Sunday  :'(

Came in to post the exact same thing.

Not good with emotions and not sure if I'm even going to be able to bring myself to watch it live.

As another poster mentioned above, the last 9 years of my life have not been good. On so many occasions, my escape was LFC and having him as our leader.

One night in particular that stands out for me was the Roma Champions League semi at Anfield. Was at one of my lowest low points that week and watching that game genuinely gave me life.

Thank you boss.

[GinKop]

...also, going to be beautiful seeing the great man's last LFC game overshadowing a tainted title win.

[FlashingBlade]

Thirty years is a long, long time…..

As I sat in the living room watching  Willian run up and score the penalty a weird thing happened to me , I started giggling. Not a funny haha giggle, more an insane ''theye coming to take me away'' giggle..my God its finally going to happen…thirty years and this is how I react!!….thankfully normality soon returned and as the final whistle blew I exploded in a wave of euphoria , my missus ran in and took a picture of me , it’s a glorious image of ecstasy….I’m so happy to have this as memory of the intensity of that moment...and then the tears flowed...

For the following hour, delirious celebration, txts, phone calls, Champagne…the feeling could not have been better had I been in the middle of the Kop…we where all isolated, but millions of us all together…..up there with the best feelings Ive had as a Red'

I slumped on the couch….in a state of grace, then I felt it , the claws withdrawing from my back, and then monkey climbed down, he sat on my lap, grey haired and tired eyes, he gave me a weak smile, “ its been a long time, too long, time for me to leave you’’…and in that moment the Monkey I had carried all those years disappeared….


Thirty years is a long fucking time…but it ended.

Thank you Jurgen, thank you so much it was all because of you