World conqueror asks for calm
Klopp finally just wants to be normal
By Stephan Uersfeld & Tobias Nordmann
January 28, 2024, 6:31 a.m
Jurgen Klopp leaves Liverpool. And again he chooses the right time. People will miss him. Klopp has once again achieved something that no coach before him has achieved. He has become a legend as a person and coach.
Of course, one thing is wrong with Jürgen Klopp. Because Jürgen Klopp is everything but normal. But he had once introduced himself to Liverpool as “The Normal One”. But no, it wasn’t and isn’t like that. The 56-year-old has created too much for that. Klopp(o) has turned himself into a global brand, even if he himself may be uncomfortable with it. He shaped football. As a coach and as a person. And that can be said, although it is not clear where his path will lead him. Klopp is a conqueror on all levels. He won over the players and the fans. With a style that is unique. He was still able to convince his team even when nothing left them hopeful. As on May 7, 2019. Liverpool FC lost the semi-final first leg against FC Barcelona 3-0. The thing shone through (more on that in a moment).
But nothing ever comes through with Klopp. Not until things have been finalized on the field. In April 2014, while still coach of Borussia Dortmund, he grumbled to the young ZDF reporter Jochen Breyer and his analysis after a 3-0 defeat at Real Madrid – “Let’s be honest, Mr. Klopp, the thing is over, right?” – annoyed: “How could you transfer money to me for my job if I stood here today and said that the matter is over? That would be just as stupid as if I said that we’ll definitely get rid of them.” The truth on the pitch then lay in the middle. The thing was over, a 2-0 win in the second leg wasn’t enough. Even if Real wavered wildly and was definitely in league with the referee. Klopp had pushed his team close to a miracle.
Always Real Madrid
And that with a team that in parts promised more greylag goose than grandeur. There was a Manuel Friedrich, an Oliver Kirch, a Milos Jojic, a Kevin Großkreutz and an Eric Durm. They came very close to a sensation when playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan sprinted past goalkeeper Ilker Casillas in the 68th minute after a great pass from double goalscorer Marco Reus, but only nailed the ball onto the outside post. Failure in big games is also something that accompanies Klopp’s impressive career. He lost twice to the Royals, his nemesis, in the fight for the handle pot, in the fight for the Champions League, which he finally won once in 2019. These defeats shaped him, they made him approachable. Because he endured it in all his stupidity. He’s not a title hoarder, but someone who had to work hard for it. The miracles were celebrated all the more ecstatically.
One thing happened five years later, FC Barcelona was actually played. Lionel Messi and his colleagues were crushed by heavy metal and embarrassed by a corner of genius from Trent Alexander-Arnold. It was one of those games which is why the fans treat Klopp with all the love they can imagine. This duel contained everything that explains why generations of people are so euphoric about this game called football. Why they base their lives on game days, where some people find the meaning of life. Klopp drove his players, the fans, himself. Because he lost his senses in his own intoxication – ex-player Jordan Ibe once said that Klopp himself spoke of the “demon” in himself, that he gave motivational slaps – they fell in love in Mainz, at Borussia Dortmund and at Anfield Road under Jürgen Norbert Klopp.
In the wake of Jürgen Klopp
But Cupid didn’t get caught up everywhere. His big gestures and wild grimaces were too much for some. His winning demeanor disturbed those who knew they would never see him at their club. They were afraid of it. They hated loving him and covered up their fear with cynicism. In his early years in England, Klopp triggered an incredible wave of enthusiasm that even brought Norwich and Huddersfield into the Premier League. A number of epigones had taken advantage of the opportunities and hired there. David Wagner, Daniel Farke and even Jan Siewert were flown to the island simply because of their black and yellow club colors and, with their connection to Klopp, had achieved something like village legend status.
In Klopp’s relationships with his clubs, which he absorbed with visits to historical places, the phrase “real love” came closer to the essence of the term than ever before in football. He so often hit the right note in the right place. The sound that touched people. It’s not so important what people think about a person when they come, Klopp said when he left: “It’s important what people think about you when you leave.” The listening black and yellow community was touched and close to tears.
Do nothing! But how does that work?
Sometimes people were also surprised at the coach’s bristliness, who sometimes lost his tone when answering critical questions. Once he attacked a WDR reporter harshly and asked angrily: “Which department? Animal films?” Klopp is Klopp, always authentic, sometimes edgy. In a world full of worries about the next shitstorm or the next sanction, he stands out. This is one of the reasons why he is considered by many people to be their favorite national coach. This longing will not be satisfied in the foreseeable future. Klopp doesn’t want to do anything for a year! Even if he doesn’t even know how to do it.
Friday, January 26, 2024, Liverpool reporter Neil Jones wrote, was the “JK moment” in football history. Other English media also jumped at the chance himself. Klopp had once again set the world in turmoil without even standing on a pitch. Without a magical moment, but with a confession. He is running out of energy. Gone is the rivalry with Pep Guardiola, which drove both of them to new heights and thereby made the Premier League more and more distant from all other leagues in the world.
Now finally go alone
Unlike Guardiola, Klopp had always coached the right clubs. Clubs of the heart, outsiders, not the super-rich primes of the domestic leagues. He was in Mainz, Dortmund and Liverpool. That was something different from Barcelona, Bayern, Manchester City. There were worlds between the names, as well as between the playing styles. Guardiola crushed the opposing teams with crazy ball relays. When they were exhausted, Messi and his brilliant colleagues would strike mercilessly. Like a hunt. Klopp also implemented this element in his idea. But different. Not grueling, but full of speed!
But it was their competition that made them what they were and are now: the greatest trainers of their generation. On the bench they were what Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were on the pitch for so long. They were unmistakable, larger than life and by no means normal, even if Klopp had always insisted on them. It might seem that way in his head, but normality would probably remain forever denied him. He had done too much with people for that. Always. You’ll Never Walk Alone has accompanied him throughout his career; it is an anthem at all his stops. It had been shouted at him again and again with great fervor. But that’s exactly what Klopp doesn’t want anymore. He finally wants to go alone.