The year 2015 was when Jurgen Klopp had just left Dortmund after a disappointing season and his next stop was Anfield; it was when the upper echelons at Liverpool had just sacked Brendan Rodgers because he couldn’t build on the title challenge his team had two seasons earlier.
Apparently, the two parties needed reinvigoration but Klopp’s statement during his first press conference brought about skepticism from pundits, journalists, and fans of Liverpool.
The then-new manager made an emphatic statement that he was looking forward to winning his first trophy for Liverpool after four years that for a club with the stature of Liverpool, patience was what the club needed to rise back to the top.
To be realistic, Klopp’s statement was spot on and to some extent and the Liverpool board accepted their fate and kept faith with Jurgen. But the age of football, teams that will give a manager the kind of patience the Reds gave Klopp is very rare. This is why we’ve seen some big managers getting sacked in their respective jobs.
An example is Jose Mourinho at United as well as Barca’s failure to record success in the Champions League after the exit of Luis Enrique at the club.
A couple of months after the arrival of Klopp, Liverpool was in the final of the UEFA Europa League against Sevilla. Albeit they ended as runners up, but the feeling of greatness on the horizon for Liverpool was obvious for the fans of Liverpool to see.
Everyone at reds wouldn’t have wanted something better than what the manager who dethroned Bayern as the King in Germany for two consecutive years and played in the final of the champions league has given in less than six months.
Liverpool needed to change some things at the club and with the body language of Jurgen Klopp and his frequent drama on the dugout at every matchday, that brings about the positive feeling and mentality to the team – the board couldn’t do anything but to support their manager with everything they had.
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Klopp once said he doesn’t buy superstars, he makes them. This statement has been proven many times with the team he’s managed over the years. He planned to come to Liverpool and build a stronger dynasty than the one he had at Dortmund. When it was time to reinforce his team, he started raiding Southampton and captured Sadio Mane.
When it was time to bring in another player, Mo Salah who has been tagged as “Chelsea Flop” was very much available, but Klopp wasted no time by snapping him up with £40m without blinking.
When Salah came into the squad, to adapt with Liverpool’s pressing and quick passes wasn’t difficult as loads of goals were coming, and becoming the second-highest most scoring team after Pep’s hazardous Manchester City side.
As Liverpool were chasing City in the league, their performance in the champion’s league was much witnessed. They went further to play in the final of the champions league against Real Madrid. Again lost to another Spanish team but this loss was due to Loris Karius’ errors.
Eventually, Alisson Becker came in and things turned around for Liverpool. Defensively, Liverpool’s errors and the rate at which they concede goals reduced it was clear to see that something big is coming the way of Liverpool. Last season was really a huge success for the Kop as they were crowned the champions of Europe after playing in the finals consecutively – with an unprecedented comeback against Barcelona at Anfield in the semi-final.
As it stands, the argument on the minds and lips of some pundits is if this current Liverpool team is the best ever in the English league. The reds for the umpteenth time got the better of Wolves at Anfield on Thursday night and seeing their record of playing more than 720-minutes without conceding a goal broken.
Klopp’s side displaying tremendous resilience to prevail even on the occasions when they haven’t performed particularly well, a scripted genesis of Jurgen Klopp’s success.
For a manager who came in with his brilliant idea and plan for the club, his records so far have been impressive and it’s the reason he’s been enjoying much praise from everyone right now. Truly, Big projects require much patience – Jurgen Klopp has proven that with Liverpool.
