The Klopp Kids
Even before his plane had touched down at John Lennon airport, Jurgen Klopp was welcomed into Liverpool as the Anfield saviour.
He is the man who would be king, the manager who has given the fans their faith back, and one the Kop faithful clearly believe has the qualities to transform a club that has promised so much over the past three decades, but delivered little.
What excites the fans so much is he is a genuine star of the game, one of the biggest in management and without question the biggest story in English football right now.
Yet even if he has the the charisma and track record to attract many more superstar names to come with him to Merseyside, Klopp will not be looking to brandish the Anfield cheque book with an immediate flourish.
That is according to Robert Lewandowski, who was discovered by the German coach as a virtual unknown, and transformed into a world class striker, bracketed with the best on the planet.
The Poland international joined the Klopp revolution at Dortmund in 2010, and believes it was the best decision of his life as he enjoyed a rise to the summit of the game from obscure beginnings...and a collected a cupboard full of medals into the bargain.
For Lewandowski, one of his former manager’s greatest qualities is to spot talent no matter the age or source – and he believes that means the Acadamy at Liverpool will get an instant shot in the arm, and the best young players a chance to shine.
“He can spot talent, and he will use talent no matter the age. He doesn’t just look to buy players, but always he has one eye on the academy players, who are good enough for him to use in his plans,” the Pole explained.
“You take a player like Mario Gotze; he was taken out of the academy as a teenager by Jurgen, and given a chance because he saw the talent in him.
“A few years later he is one of the best players in the world, and scoring the winning goal in the World Cup final. That is not the only example, Jurgen likes to promote from the academy and play local players.”
Liverpool have placed great emphasis on their Academy in recent years after a barren decade when not one young player followed Steven Gerrard from the late ‘90s into the first team as a regular.
Previous boss Brendan Rodgers did bring through Raheem Sterling, Jon Flanagan and Jordon Ibe into the first team squad, but now Lewandowski is confident the local players – who used to be the lifeblood of the Reds – can start getting excited they will be thrust into the heat of battle.
Already on the fringes of the squad are brilliant youngsters like Jordan Rossiter, who was born a stone’s throw away from Anfield.
Ibe was bought into the academy as a youngster from Wycombe, while other purchases as 16 year olds or younger include the likes of Jerome Sinclair, Sheyi Ojo and Pedro Chrivella, who made a dramatic impact on his debut in the Europa League.
But even beyond that tier of players who are now ready to join the first team squad – and include other hopefuls like Sergi Canos, Jordan Williams and Joao Teixeira – there are a group of youth team players who have caught the attention of Academy boss Alex Inglethorpe and his staff.
Chief amongst them is U18 captain, and England U17 star Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is part of the England squad that will travel to the U17 World Cup in Chile later this month, who is regarded as a real talent at the club.
Youth players like Tom Brewitt, Joe Maguire, Ryan Kent, Cameron Brannagan, Daniel Cleary and Connor Randall will all be considered by Klopp, and some will be eyeing the Europa League and Capital One Cup games with constitute two of the German’s first four matches in charge.
Lewandowski though, has stressed that it is not just the youngsters who will benefit from the Klopp Effect, but the first team squad too...and even established Brazil internationals like Coutinho and Roberto Firmino can be confident and excited they will improve under the coach.
In fact, the Poland forward, who is now with Bayern Munich, confirmed that the fans have the right to believe the Messiah touched down on Merseyside last night, because he has that golden touch to transform any team....no matter how good or bad.
“The thing with Jurgen is that he will always make any player better,” he added.
“It doesn’t matter if you are already playing at a high level, he will find something in your game that will make you better. He can and does improve the best players in the world, it has always been something he has been able to do.”
Source: Daily Mirror
This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.