Bella Michaels
This week Liverpool celebrated four years with Manager Jurgen Klopp. The charismatic German has already made a monumental impact since his arrival. From his wittiness to his top-level management skills, here are some reasons why we love Klopp:
Formerly Borussia Dortmund’s manager, Klopp arrived at Liverpool after taking a short break from football. He had a spectacular seven years in his motherland’s league, Bundesliga, with Dortmund.
On Thursday, October 8, 2015-- a day which will live on in many Reds’ hearts-- Liverpool announced that Klopp would replace former manager Brendan Rodgers at Anfield.
The Reds haven’t looked back since-- being that Klopp led Liverpool to the Europa League final in 2015/16, and two consecutive Champions League finals, winning the 2018/19 Champions League Trophy.
What will be remembered most is the unforgettable, gobsmacking 4-0 semi-final victory over Barcelona on their own turf.
Klopp led his team to the tournament’s most historic victory-- I can’t reference it without mentioning the cheeky corner by young defender Trent Alexander-Arnold that will live in infamy for every Barca fan, as well as Gini Wijnaldum and Divock Origi’s braces in the absence of two star players, Mohamed Salah and Bobby Firmino.
What’s funny is that Klopp said that he didn’t even catch that corner live in action.
You also can’t forget when he sang “let’s talk about SIX baby” after Liverpool won their sixth European Cup in June 2019.
But these are the things we love about Klopp. His charisma, his honesty, his humility, his humor… need we say more?
Football fans around the world acknowledge the German for his charming personality, to the point where they just wait to see how he responds to anything and everything.
He often gets much attention on social media for things he says and does during press conferences or even during games… like the time he sprinted onto the field to embrace Alisson Becker in celebration of Divock Origi’s late 96th-minute winner against their Merseyside-rival Everton last season.
Beyond his charisma and great relationship he has with his players, let’s talk numbers pulled from a Liverpool statistician.
In total, the King of the Kop has led over 221 matches as the Liverpool boss, while also registering a club-record 97 points in a single Premier League season.
Faster than any other Liverpool manager, Klopp managed his team to 400 goals in only 197 games.
He recorded 92 wins in his first 150 league games as manager, more than any other Liverpool manager in history.
To put the cherry on top, Klopp led his team to 17 consecutive league victories, the best that the club has ever seen.
He is also the first manager ever to lead an English team to three European finals in his first three seasons of the European competition.
Beyond the stats, Klopp is everything one wants in a manager. The team has hardly made any bad signings under his reign, in fact, each player has been a key signing and has played their role well into the squad.
Klopp embraces his role as a manager. He embraces his players. He embraces the sport. We hope to see him lead the Reds for as long as possible. Cheers to all those moments, cheers to Jurgen Klopp.