By Toby Prince
Liverpool on Thursday confirmed that Jurgen Klopp had signed a three-year deal as coach of the club replacing sacked Brendan Rodgers.
The German has immediately won the support of Anfield faithful by taking a jibe at Jose Mourinho’s infamous “Special one” tag – describing himself as “the normal one” in his first press conference at the club on Friday.
His arrival at Merseyside has breathed a new life to the club and has gotten Reds fans brewing with confidence and expectant ahead of their October 17 clash with Tottenham after the international break.
Here are four interesting qualities Klopp could bring to Liverpool and the Premier League at large:
- Attractive football
Jurgen Klopp would certainly light up the Premier League with his high-octane brand of football.
The 48-year-old built up a reputation over the past few years and deservedly has many admirers across Europe.
He managed to take Borussia Dortmund to great heights and implemented a style of play that the great Pep Guardiola has taken on at Bayern in certain games. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery, and having the master that is Pep copy your tactics must be the pinnacle.
Klopp fully believes in speed of play and transitions. With this in mind, before Mario Gotze left for Bayern, he set up Dortmund so Marco Reus and Goetze played in close proximity to one another.
“Winning is important but so is how you win and how you play the game,” the former Dortmund coach told the press on Friday.
“I believe in a playing philosophy that is very emotional, very fast and very strong. My teams must play at full throttle and take it to the limit every game.
“It is important to have a playing philosophy that reflects your own mentality, reflects the club and gives you a clear direction to follow. Tactical of course, but tactical with a big heart,” he said.
- Charisma and passion
Described as an extrovert, Klopp is a very expressive and powerful character, who is able to get his views across to his team and individual players.
This is evident in his explosive goal celebrations as well as some old-school theatrical touchline presence which sees him kick and block every ball – which will add little glamour to the Anfield dugout.
Klopp has been hailed as the perfect fit for Liverpool; as Lothar Matthaus pointed out, an “emotional coach” for an “emotional club”. That’s a marriage the Kop has been desperately seeking ever since Bill Shankly orphaned them so abruptly in 1974.
“Liverpool has extraordinary supporters and Anfield is a world renowned home, with an incredible atmosphere. I want to build to build a relationship with these supporters and give them memories to cherish.
“I hope we can feed off each other’s energy and that we take this journey together,” Klopp said.
He reminded the Liverpool fans at his unveiling on Friday of his funny and thoughtful press conferences which were quite a hit during his years at Dortmund.
“I came from the Black Forest. My mother is watching this at home on the television, but she won’t understand a word. She is very proud, though,” he joked.
- Trophies
This is a must for a Liverpool manager. To handle a big club you need to know what it’s like to win and Klopp has that.
He guided BVB to two Bundesliga titles, a German Super Cup, three German Cups and was Champions League runners-up once. The German knows what it takes to win trophies.
It is that sort of guidance the Liverpool squad needs to get over that final hurdle and rid themselves of the bottle job tag they currently possess in the opinions of some fans.
“If I am sitting here in four years, we will win one title in this time. If not, maybe win the next one in Switzerland,” Klopp pledged on Friday.
Liverpool chairman Tom Werner believes the club have appointed one of the best managers in the world who will definitely bring trophies back to Anfield.
“In Jurgen Klopp we have appointed a world class manager. Critically a winner – he is enthusiastic about the squad of players and wants the team to achieve success this season and beyond.”
- Ability to groom and lure big name players
Klopp posses the personality to attract the very best talents in Europe and beyond.
World class players are only motivated by trophies and good football – two attributes absent from Merseyside in almost a decade.
He took little known players like Mats Hummels, Ilkay Gundogan and Mario Goetze and turned them into World Cup winners.
He assisted Robert Lewandowski in becoming one of Europe’s best strikers. Liverpool have a squad full of potential waiting to be nurtured and under the guidance of Klopp this could be a reality.
Too often managers go into new jobs and few months later they complain about the squad they inherited.
In contrast, Klopp spoke highly of his current squad saying “no no, this squad is alright”.
