Blog: Jürgen Klopp - a football romantic?

Aside from the occasional cup upset, we don’t really see much romance in the beautiful game these days.

Of course, the high-octane drama of football still produces the ups and downs that make it so exciting, but at the very top of the game, it is very much about financial power dictating your ability to compete.

One of the biggest success stories in recent times is Jürgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund.

Against the financial might of Bayern Munich, they were able to beat the odds to become the best team in Germany, and one of the best in Europe for a period. It was a journey that was incredible to watch; the relationship between the club and its supporters is built on pure emotion – they feed off one another.

What Klopp built at Dortmund catapulted him into the very top level of managers in the game. There is no question that any of the top teams across Europe looking for a manager would have had Klopp very close to the top of the wish list.

With so many options ahead of him for a new challenge, Klopp decided that the opportunity to rebuild Liverpool was the one that he wanted. That decision says everything you need to know about what drives him; he is a manager that can see the romance in the game, his instincts based on emotion.

Connection with supporters

Although this is a new chapter in Klopp’s career, he will likely find that there are some striking parallels between Liverpool and Dortmund – both clubs share a similar identity.

There is something about Jürgen Klopp that makes you think he sees the game through supporters’ eyes. At Dortmund the connection he built with the club’s fans was clear to see; there is an honesty and humility about him that people relate to. Klopp is one of the most animated managers in the game; he shares the same passion, emotion, celebration and despair that supporters feel.

One of the reasons for Klopp’s popularity at Dortmund was that he provided an emotional link from the club to the supporters. He will find that if he can build that same relationship with Liverpool fans, they will embrace him forever. The surge of excitement that has met Klopp’s appointment is in part due to his world-class coaching credentials, but also because his time at Dortmund shows us that he’ll get the things that make Liverpool a special club.

Since the days of Bill Shankly, the manager role at Liverpool has carried huge significance with supporters. It would be unfair on Jürgen Klopp to compare him with any of our past legends, as he is very much his own man with his own ideas. But the single biggest attribute that you need to succeed as a manager at Anfield is to connect with the city and the club’s supporters.

By choosing to take on the challenge at Liverpool, Klopp has made a statement that he believes Liverpool will match his ideals and his ambition.

Time is important

Once the excitement of Klopp’s arrival subsides and the football begins, he is going to need time and patience to build the team that he wants. Klopp is a world-class coach, but he will be trying to hit the ground running in a new league and a new country, with a new group of players.

It is going to take him time to work with the players and understand strengths and weaknesses; it will also take the players time to respond to his ideas and direction as we develop a playing identity.

Klopp has said that he likes to play ‘high-octane football’, which will be music to the ears of every Liverpool fan. If you look back to Klopp’s time at Dortmund they had an incredible work ethic – but I am sure he will not be looking to recreate the style he built at Dortmund at Liverpool, he will want to take it onto a different level.

If you are a Liverpool player, the prospect of playing under Klopp must be exciting. He has shown that he is a coach that improves players.

We have a group at Liverpool that are at a key stage on the development journey, it is generally at that age of 23-26 where players will find the level they will reach. It is vital to the future success of Liverpool that we have the elite coaching structure in place that will guide players to their full potential.

Jürgen Klopp and his coaching team are among the very best in the world at taking a team of potential stars and turning them into a world-class team. They have a proven track record.

Klopp is a builder of teams; he will be given the time and patience he needs from everybody at Liverpool to construct a side capable of competing and winning.

From ‘doubters’ to ‘believers’

The most important thing for any football club with ambition is to have hope - an idea or a journey to buy into. If you have hope, you can believe anything is possible. That power of collective belief is something that Klopp’s Dortmund used to huge advantage.

There have been moments in time where Liverpool have had that same hope in the past 20 years, but it has never translated itself into a mentality throughout the club that anything is possible.

There is a sense that Jürgen Klopp wants to change that – he will know from his time at Dortmund that there is a definite advantage to building a culture where there is a common vision that we are stronger together.

Klopp has a very affable style, but you can see that there is real conviction in his belief that he can be successful at Liverpool, and he knows that to achieve that, he is going to need supporters and his players to believe in him.

The first stage in building Klopp’s Liverpool is to give supporters hope for the future, and a belief in the journey. The very fact that he has chosen to take on the challenge at this great club, and turned his back on easier routes to success, shows his belief in us.

Klopp will be desperate to write a new chapter in the club’s history, he knows that should he succeed at Liverpool, the romance of the journey will be his legacy.

It’s impossible not to look to the future as a believer in Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool.