Klopp just proved he’s passionate, normal and in touch with the fans
JURGEN KLOPP described himself as the ‘Normal One’ during his first press conference as Liverpool manager three years ago.
His manic celebration of Divock Origi’s freak 96th-minute winner in last week’s Mersey derby proves, in my opinion, that he is exactly that.
Klopp was fined £8,000 by the FA and warned about his future conduct after racing into the centre of the Anfield pitch when Origi pounced to prosper from Jordan Pickford’s nightmare blunder in front of the Kop.
But, for me, it was the natural reaction of a man who loves football and is deeply passionate about it.
And, in an era when elite players and managers are hammered on a weekly basis for losing touch with the fans who pack Premier League grounds, I don’t feel that is something to be censured.
Of course, I know a thing or two about derby goal celebrations!
Back in 1999, after I scored the first of my two goals against Everton in a 3-2 victory at Anfield, I went down on my knees to “sniff ” the painted white line running along the six-yard box.
It was my way of getting my own back for hurtful – and totally unfounded – chants that Evertonians had made up about me having a drug habit.
And, although my antics always feature in lists of the most controversial goal celebrations, I was forced to pay a heavy club fine and was hit with an FA suspension.
At the time, I felt I was the victim of some knee-jerk justice. Looking ooking back, I deserved everything I got. .
My celebration was premeditated. emeditated. It was designed to bait those hose Everton supporters who were making king my life a misery. It was unprofessional. onal.
But when I watched Jurgen gen Klopp sprint from his technical al area to hug Liverpool goalkeeper r Alisson last Sunday, there was absolutely solutely nothing choreographed about bout his reaction to Origi’s dramatic amatic winning goal.
It was an outpouring of pure joy that 99.9 per cent of football fans could relate to – and admire.
This wasn’t a man n demonstrating a lack of f respect for Everton. Nor was Klopp goading the visiting Blues, once again packed into the Anfield Road End.
What I saw was a manager who gets it, a manager who is in love with the game and knows how much it means to the supporters to win the derby and give Liverpo Liverpool’s title challenge a huge lift.
I would s say the same if it had been Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho or Marco Silva.
Pep lost control himself last season when he raced down the touchline to celebrate Raheem Sterling’s last-minute winner for Manchester City against Southampton.
A couple of weeks ago, Jose reacted to Marouane Fellaini’s late strike to beat Young Boys and take Manchester United into the last 16 of the Champions League by lifting up and smashing a crate of water bottles.
Neither man was punished – nor should they have been.
No one was hurt. The only people offended were those who get offended by everything.
I remember when Mourinho ran down the touchline at Old Trafford to celebrate a winning goal for Porto in the Champions League. I thought it was brilliant.
In fact, I recreated that celebration when I scored against United for City in a Manchester derby!
If my manager had reacted to a goal like that when I was a player, I would have been all over him.
I think that seeing your manager celebrate like that helps to build a bond. It galvanises everyone in the team. For me, Jurgen Klopp proved, beyond any doubt, that he is a true man of the people.