Not too long ago Jürgen Klopp announced that he would leave Liverpool at the end of this season. Liverpool has spent nine years at the club which is the longest he has ever spent in any team and he is the longest-serving manager in the Premier League right now.
He took over Liverpool in October of 2015 and was given the keys to rebuild a struggling Liverpool side who had been struggling for several years. In his first year, Klopp introduced a style that the Premier League hadn’t seen before. He introduced the league to Gegenpressing, it was famous in Germany where he is from and because of him, it is now famous in England. Gegenpressing is an intense style of pressing that requires a lot of fitness, especially in the attack and midfield. It does not just need a player to be quick and fit, but also decisive and clinical in the final third because that’s where they get the ball after a successful press.
Before the Fame
Before the success, he had to experience a lot of losses and criticism about the way he played. He finished eighth in his first season which was two places below last season and because of that, Liverpool missed out on the Europa League. In later seasons, he lost both the Europa League and Champions League final two times against Spanish teams and had a lot of top-four finishes in the Premier League.
A lot of the games felt like the only way to win was to score more goals than your opponent. Which is basically how soccer is played, but in his case it was different. His team always seemed to attack and attack until the referee blew the whistle. Klopp knew his team would concede goals because their defense wasn’t the best, so he needed his attackers to be clinical which is why a lot of his games ended with a lot of goals on both sides of the field.
With new players arriving like Virgil Van Djik, Robertson, Alisson, and the incorporation of Trent in the first team brought stability in their defense. Those players helped Liverpool keep possession because they’re all composed, decisive and had excellent passing. Which is something they lacked before they came.
In the attack, he brought one of the best trios in the game: Salah, Mane, and Firmino. They were very influential in the way Liverpool played. Firmino sacrificed a lot of his goals and fitness for Salah and Mane, playing like a false nine. Firmino was always the first player pressing the opponents and his unselfishness helped both wingers thrive in the goal category.
You Will Never Walk Alone
The fans were right to believe because he proved everyone wrong. Klopp won Liverpool their first Champions league after 14 years and won them their first ever Premier League title. He has also won the FA Cup, Carabao Cup, and the Community Shield. He won those trophies while playing some of the most beautiful football fans have ever seen.
Embed from Getty Images
He leaves the league as an icon, not just in the Premier League but in the Football World as well. He impacted so many teams with his playing style so much that they want to copy it. Klopp isn’t just the Liverpool manager, he is Liverpool. To be able to manage a team like Liverpool, you need to have more than the credentials. You need to have the passion and personality for this type of team and he had that. Every football fan will miss him except the ones from Manchester. He will never walk alone, just how the fans chanted to him after hearing the devastating news.
This video will make you cry.
Jurgen Klopp in tears as Anfield sings You’ll Never Walk Alone after his announcement that he will be leaving the club at the end of the season♥️😢 pic.twitter.com/qWk17jPi6A
— LFC Transfer Room (@LFCTransferRoom) January 28, 2024
