How Klopp walked tall at Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp was two months into his tenure as Liverpool manager when he strode onto the Anfield turf, cajoled his players into lining up with him at the edge of the penalty area, and made them thank fans in The Kop with an armswinging salute.
The team had just scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time to rescue a 2-2 draw against lowly West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League. It was hardly a result worthy of such a reaction, and was invariably the subject of widespread ridicule.
Yet it was typical of Klopp: maverick, unconventional, passionate, but also calculated.
‘‘Liiiiverpool, Liiiiverpool,’’ the Kopites chanted back, a bond seemingly already forged with a bespectacled, capwearing, bearded German manager who was about to make them dream again.
Four-and-a-half years later, Klopp has attained legendary status in the port city in northwest England as the man who returned Liverpool to the top of English game after a 30-year wait for a 19th league title. His name will be slotted alongside those of other managerial greats at Anfield — Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley and Kenny Dalglish.
Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Manchester City yesterday saw Liverpool clinch their first championship since 1990, ending one of the most unforeseen droughts in British sports.
European champion, world club champion, and now English champion. All in the space of 13 months and all under the watchful eye of an eccentric who has turned Liverpool from a thrilling yet brittle team into a coldblooded, trophy-winning juggernaut.
More than that, Klopp has managed to achieve the nearly impossible in this era of increasing football tribalism: he is almost universally liked. Ask fans of Manchester United and Manchester City what they think about the man who has relegated their teams to Premier League also-rans this season and they’ll most likely speak of their respect and admiration for him.
It is easy to see why – and not just because of his infectious energy and passion on the touchline and manmanagement skills.
‘‘No disrespect to the other managers before him, but I felt it from day one when he came in the door,’’ Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson said of Klopp yesterday. ‘‘He just changed everything and everyone followed him.’’
In interviews and news conferences, Klopp is equally at home making jokes as he is talking politics and current affairs. He was one of the few Premier League managers to divulge his views about Brexit – ‘‘there was not one time in history where division creates success,’’ he told one interviewer – and did so in a calm and thoughtful manner.
He holds strident opinions on player welfare, even if that means openly criticising governing bodies.
‘‘As long as nothing changes I will say something all the time,’’ Klopp said this year, describing himself mockingly as ‘The Moaner from Liverpool’. ‘‘It’s because it’s about the players, not one second about me.’’
Klopp is also fun, his loud laugh and flashing grin – made even more stark after having his teeth whitened in late 2017 – now a staple part of a Premier League weekend.
‘‘The best word I can say to describe this is: BOOM!’’ he said, looking straight into the TV camera and with a broad grin, after Liverpool beat Man City in March 2016. The reaction has turned into a meme.
How different it all would have been if he’d have decided to join Man United, with whom he held talks in 2014 according to his biographer, Raphael Honigstein. Instead, a year later, he chose Liverpool as his next step after leaving Borussia Dortmund, a German club that has working-class roots, a strong heritage and a passionate fan base – just like the team he was about to join as the replacement for Brendan Rodgers. He has proved a perfect fit, and far from ‘‘The Normal One’’ tag he gave himself at his presentation at Anfield in October 2015 in reference to Jose Mourinho’s self-styled ‘‘Special One’’ description.