Doubters to believers: Liverpool’s final piece in the puzzle
By Riaz Ravat
Jurgen Klopp capped the five-year Liverpool evolution in 2020.
Part five of a five part series on the Reds’ progress under Jürgen Klopp. Read part one, two, three and four here.
The Premier League win in 2020 after a 30 year wait saw Klopp join the likes of Kenny Dalglish, Joe Fagan, Bob Paisley, the legendary Bill Shankly and others in winning the top flight – starting with Tom Watson in 1901.
An overall assessment of the season saw the Reds also win the European Super Cup and for the first time – the Club World Championship. This was a dominant and historic season with Anfield impenetrable for the third consecutive campaign, the achievement of the longest winning streak and title secured with seven games to spare just some of the accolades among many.
Despite the consistency of the machine-like victories by single goal margins which were a regular feature in 2019-20, this was also the season which witnessed an epoch-making moment.
Shades of the victory against Nottingham Forest in 1988 came flooding back against another East Midlands based team. The Foxes of Leicester were carved up in a post-Christmas fest.
The Boxing Day destruction of Leicester City at the King Power Stadium when as with 1988, first met second, was awesome artistry. The jet setters fresh from being crowned World Club Champions ran riot with Trent Alexander-Arnold’s performance, one for all the years. This triumph against Klopp’s then landlord and predecessor – Brendan Rodgers, was a statement victory.
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One of the principal reasons why Klopp ‘fits’ the Liverpool way is because of his ability to nurture and create ‘Galacticos’ unlike rival teams who intend to purchase them. The value of players Klopp has blooded into the team from the academy or purchased has risen exponentially bar very few exceptions – Karius anyone?
Sadio Mané arrived from Southampton for a hefty price tag for someone who was far from the player we now see. Roberto Firmino was looking like another expensive purchase under Rodgers and Mohamed Salah’s Chelsea career was one to ignore.
Even when Liverpool made record breaking purchases – Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker, their immediate impact and transformation of the club’s fortunes have been nothing short of incredible. Van Dijk has had such an influence on the game that every defender coveted by European football’s elite, is judged against his barometer.
Whatever the future holds for Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool, this is a manager who has already become a legend. Not yet by the number of trophies he has won – Bob Paisley won an extraordinary amount of silverware in only nine years – but because he snapped the streak by ending the painful 30 year domestic drought and completed the first ‘global Grand Slam’ by a British team in Qatar.
His football philosophy has transformed the English game to an extent that for example, playing with two strikers up front is uncommon.
Klopp’s charisma and ability to have Reds eating out of his palms has not gone unnoticed with a much wider societal respect coming the way of the man from Stuttgart.
King Klopp’s Liverpool is one which has learnt from painful defeats. Where it has happened, this Liverpool reacts. The transformation from “doubters to believers” required patience.
Whilst Liverpool’s rivals demand instant success, the Reds hierarchy allowed the manager to build this meticulous jigsaw piece by piece to allow for long-term sustainability. This is a story with many chapters, not a single one.
Jurgen Klopp’s challenge from 2020-21 will be to maintain the thirst and hunger in the squad so that he can build a legacy based on an era of success. Expect more talent from the Kirkby conveyor belt to be part of future chapters.
Next. ‘No brainer’ Thiago Alcantara must be the next Liverpool signing. dark
Riaz Ravat is a member of Liverpool FC’s Equality & Diversity Fan Forum. He writes in his own capacity.