1. Jurgen Klopp announces Liverpool departure, January 26th
It’s safe to say that throughout Jurgen Klopp’s time at Liverpool, the overwhelming majority of the club’s supporters wished to avoid even thinking about the eventual reality that one day, the beloved manager would no longer occupy his position.
However, much to the heartbreak of the club’s supporters, Klopp forced them to grapple with that reality when he announced that he would step down as Liverpool coach at the end of the campaign late in January.
Words lack the potency to justly articulate how significant and adored a figure the German became in his eight-and-a-half years at Anfield.
Under his management, Liverpool enjoyed their most prosperous period in decades as they won a first league title in 30 years with an astonishing 99 points (having finished the previous campaign with 97), a first Champions League in 14 years (and reached two additional finals), a first F.A. Cup in 16 years as well as two League Cups, the UEFA Super Cup, the Community Shield and a first ever Club World Cup.
Nearly nine years after he took over an underachieving side that had secured just one top-four finish in the six years prior to his arrival, Klopp had restored the club’s elite status among English and European football.
In addition to his achievements with Liverpool on the pitch, as well as the electrifying brand of high tempo football he implemented, Klopp forged a bond with the club’s supporters far deeper than is customary for his position.
Whether darting onto the pitch to celebrate a stoppage time winner in the Merseyside Derby, singing with Liverpool fans the morning after a Champions League final defeat, or pumping his fist at Anfield’s Kop end after a victory, the charismatic German harbored an unparalleled ability to rouse Liverpool’s supporters.
In his first press conference as Liverpool manager, Klopp famously described himself as “the normal one.” The years to follow truly proved anything but about the man who became the chief architect of a period of immense success at the club and in doing so, cemented himself as an Anfield icon.