How Jurgen Klopp Turned Liverpool Around

The German master tactician was a revolutionary acquirement for the Reds in 2015. His time at Anfield has shown that he is an asset wherever he goes. Under his tenure, Liverpool have won almost every trophy they contested.

Notably, following a title drought before his reign, Klopp returned both Premier League and Champions League glory to Merseyside. His skills are not simply a numbers game. Awareness and experience combine to create a uniquely successful style of coaching that no one can duplicate.

Klopp The Tactical Genius

The Normal One took over after Brendan Rodgers endured a horror start to the 2015/16 campaign. It would prove too much to overcome for league play, and the Reds finished 8th in the Premier League. Every other competition, though ultimately ending in heartbreak, saw Liverpool make incredible runs.

Several nail-biting penalty shootouts brought Liverpool to the League Cup Final. There they faced a talented Manchester City side that brought an end to the PKs luck.

In Europe, facing his former team, Klopp secured an emotional and improbable come-from-behind victory against Borussia Dortmund. It took them to the Europa League Final, where Sevilla’s almost supernatural capability to win the competition outdid the English giants.

How did the German do this with the same squad that the Northern Irishman was incapable of achieving? Much of it is thanks to a style of coaching called Gegenpressing.

The style of play was created by the Central European nation, and managers who find a job abroad have been known to use its benefits when they sign for a new team.

Gegenpressing focuses on high-pressing and retention of the ball. Whenever the team is dispossessed, all parties move to pressure the controller of the ball and regain control of the match’s tempo.

While it is not a wholly unique strategy in European football, the way the German utilizes it is.

Portuguese and Spanish coaches, cue Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho, are known for being the most expressive in Europe. German game managers are a lot more stoic for their part. That cannot be said about Liverpool’s maestro.

On and off the ball, Klopp is an emotional leader who voices his strategies all game long. Should Liverpool lose possession, his animated reaction plays a factor in their aggression to get it back.

Klopp’s backline for the final against Sevilla should stand out as a sign of his ability to make do with what he has. Nathaniel Clyne, Dejan Lovren, Kolo Toure and Alberto Moreno were talented in their own right, but the four defensemen who took the pitch years later in Liverpool’s first UCL Final were far superior.

Speaking of the Champions League, the Reds have made the Final three times since Klopp arrived. From 2017/18 onward, that is more than any other team.

It had been over ten years since AC Milan had enacted their revenge on Liverpool following The Istanbul Miracle. However, Champions League glory is only the half of it.

The Normal One ended title droughts in the English top flight as well as various domestic cups. Perhaps most importantly, after the bitter 2005 defeat, Anfield welcomed the Club World Cup trophy for the first time in club history in 2019.

Kloppo’s style of coaching allows for more than just team unity and improving otherwise average players.

By demanding the best of his players he has helped train several stars to reach their full potential. These footballers have benefitted the club as they establish themselves among the sport’s best.

Notable examples include Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, who without the German maestro, would have had a longer road to their legendary careers.

Longevity, while certainly measurable by statistics, does not happen by sheer chance. Salah and Van Dijk are past their prime but still mark their presence on the pitch against most opponents.

Klopp’s style of leadership enables superstars to perform their role for as long as their abilities let them. Incredibly, with only a few exceptions, the world-class footballers that Klopp has coached fit seamlessly into the place his design for the team requires.

Liverpool have only failed to make a cup final in one of Klopp’s years in charge. Meanwhile, they have won seven different competitions and Mo Salah three scoring titles in the Premier League.

Klopp himself boasts a handful of accolades and it is no wonder why. He turned a struggling team he inherited into a great team, and years later developed them into the best club in the world.

Now, even as the Reds are in for another tough season, the German genius can again prove that his coaching style relies on passion more than any advanced statistics.