Romantic Klopp could woo broken Reds
German could be the tonic Liverpool need to rise to greatness again
AHOPEFUL crowd gathered at the gates of Melwood yesterday afternoon, waiting for smoke to rise from the training enclave like it does when the Vatican chooses a new pope.
Elsewhere, Jürgen Klopp and his advisors were discussing the prospect of a future at Liverpool; a managerial responsibility that on Merseyside is papal in its standing.
Those who know Klopp well say he is a romantic and this is why Liverpool enchants him. He acts on instinct. He listens to the memories that rattle around his consciousness; ones that remain vivid no matter how long they have been there.
Like other Germans in his age group, Klopp, 48, remembers when England’s teams dominated Europe. He was a month short of his 10th birthday when, in 1977, Liverpool collected their first European Cup by beating Borussia Mönchengladbach in Rome.
Soon after, Hamburg, Mönchengladbach again and Bayern Munich were dispatched in various European competitions by Liverpool, and Anfield’s trophy room needed extending.
Klopp remembers an era when English football possessed an aura: when Germany and its football culture aspired to be English. How times have changed. His mind is not cluttered. But Klopp remembers. He will have thought about what it was like when he took over at Dortmund in 2008. He will realise that there are some similarities with history and present circumstance at Liverpool. He will recognise the differences, too.
The message from Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool’s owners, will be to make the club successful again and, almost certainly, to qualify for the Champions League. It will be delivered as more of an ambition than a demand.
At Dortmund, he was not recruited to propel the club to the top of the Bundesliga. The mood in 2008 was corrosive – a fan base feeling short-changed and fed up with a team that did not give 100 percent to the cause.
Supporters merely wanted to see effort again, something they could identify with; players with the ability to harness the passion from the terraces on to the pitch.
In his first weeks at Dortmund he considered crucial the process of speaking with fan groups. When one eminent ultra, because of his job as an insurance salesman, was caught in traffic and therefore was an hour late for a meeting, Klopp insisted on the sit-down being delayed for as long as it took because he wanted everyone to be there.
Klopp was already popular in Germany before landing the job at the Westfalenstadion. Working as a TV pundit during the 2006 World Cup n Germany, while he was still in charge of Mainz, his popularity rocketed because of his natural and funny manner. He rarely said the same thing twice and did not use stock phrases.
This ability was crucial at Dortmund, where his pre-match team talks became legendary and presidential in their deliverance.
His command of language when speaking in German is creative and, although he is competent in English, it may have concerned him that it is not strong enough to get an impassioned but clear message across in the really vital moments.
It explains why he has rejected several offers to manage in Spain since beginning a sabbatical in May. He realises his limitations.
Klopp is certainly no careerist. He played only for Mainz before becoming coach for seven years, spending the same number of seasons at Dortmund. Though he has been offered a three-year contract by Liverpool, he feels this will be his only English club and he could end up staying longer if the relationship works.
Friends say that although he did not initially realise it, he had come to accept that a year out would be beneficial for his own well-being, such is the intensity with which he operates. When Lucien Favre resigned as Mönchengladbach’s coach last month, Klopp was suggested as a replacement by those with power inside the club but he made it clear he wanted to remain at peace for a little while longer.
His decision to join Liverpool will not be based around what money is on offer, friends insist. Potentially, he will earn considerably more at Anfield than he did at Dortmund. Some even believe this might put him off, taking it as a sign of Liverpool’s desperation or a reflection of the transience of a Premier League manager’s role.
This thought will bring him to the issue of the people he is working for. When Brendan Rodgers was sacked on Sunday over the phone it was due to the fact that those making the decision were across the Atlantic. When Klopp left Dortmund, the club chairman HansJoachim Watzke was by his side with the expression of someone whose relative had just died. Klopp appeared relieved. Watzke was shattered. But he was there.
Klopp realises managing Liverpool will pose different challenges to Dortmund. The club is fragile but it will be fortunate when he takes over, fortunate that at least one significant person inside it takes a sympathetic view of Liverpool’s continuing claim to greatness, someone who ultimately is stirred by the nostalgic bonds of history. – The Independent