Jurgen Klopp: What He Meant To Me
Well, this is it folks, the end of an era, the closing of a chapter, and the culmination of a journey filled with dazzling highs, and crushing lows. Jurgen Klopp waves goodbye to the Liverpool Football Club. This man won the Premier League, Champions League, and a host of other trophies throughout his tenure. There’s no doubt that he brought Liverpool back to the promised land. He re-established us as a true force in the sport, ensuring that our next chapter would continue on the same trail after his departure. This piece is likely one of many that will pop up giving Klopp his flowers. But please allow a fellow Red this space to show his appreciation for one of our greatest managers ever.
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Unfamiliar Dominance
When I started seriously supporting Liverpool, it was at the tail end of the Rafa Benitez era. I did witness the largely successful 2008/09 season, wherein the Reds finished second. But the hardship of the following season, 2009/10, saw the Reds finish seventh. Benitez departed the club, being the first indication that things weren’t quite right at the club. For the sake of traumatized Liverpool fans, I probably shouldn’t go into Roy Hodgson’s tenure too much, the disappointment of Kenny Dalglish’s return, or even the false dawn of the Brendan Rodgers era, where that breathtaking 2013/14 season being the outlier along 2.5 seasons’ worth of mediocrity.
Along came Jurgen Klopp in 2015, promising to turn Liverpool doubters into believers, and while he certainly did that, and then some, one important thing he did was remind me of how massive a club Liverpool is. It’s honestly quite hard to remember that the club you support is a giant in football when you’re routinely finishing mid-table year after year. Still, the taste of glory that Klopp gave us throughout his tenure harkens back to the glory days of the vintage Liverpool of the 1970s and 1980s, which is being in the mix for the biggest trophies season after season.
Now, after almost eight years under Klopp, it’s clear that the expectation is back. The aura is back. The fear factor is back. We’re a big club again, in name, accolades, and overall quality of players, and that’s all thanks to Jurgen.
Klopp’s Love Of The Fans
Compared to some of my colleagues at American Scouser, I haven’t been supporting Liverpool the longest. So take this with a grain of salt when I say, there isn’t a figure in football, or sports in general, that I felt I connected to as much as Jurgen Klopp during his tenure as Liverpool manager.
From his memorable first press conference to the scenes after that Champions League win in 2019, the tears shed when the league title was sealed in 2020, and the farewells at home against Wolves on the weekend. As a supporter of this sport, there’s a notion that you feel more connected to your team compared to others.
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But under Jurgen Klopp, there’s that sense that you’re amongst those on the pitch throughout every high and low more so than usual, and that’s a testament to how much he valued us fans throughout his reign. There is the hope and expectation that our next gaffer will show us Reds fans the same admiration and respect when it’s his time to steer the ship.
A Doubter To A Believer
There’s a saying in life, to be glad that you experienced all the good times instead of being upset that it’s done. That’s sort of the mindset I have had as this final season under Klopp slowly drew to a close. It’s easy to rue the missed opportunities we’ve had to win more trophies and dwell on those losses but the journeys to get up the mountain have been filled with memories that we would look back on fondly.
All things considered, I wouldn’t swap the trip we’ve had with Jurgen Klopp for anything else in the world. It’s rare to have a storybook ending in sports, and, unfortunately, we’ll only be celebrating the League Cup to close out this season. But in terms of going out on his terms, ensuring the club is stable and at an upward trajectory on his way out, and most importantly, keeping his word during his first press conference, I would say that the Jurgen Klopp era at Liverpool has been quite the story. While the ending can leave fans wanting for more, at the end of it all, we Reds supporters leave satisfied with a man who truly gave his all for this great club, turning us all from doubters to believers.
Dánke Jurgen, You’ll Never Walk Alone.
