Despite all their years in the Bundesliga, Jurgen Klopp (left) and Jörg Schmadtke rarely crossed paths on the pitch. Photo: Getty Images/Stuart Franklin
Jörg Schmadtke's career has never seen a club with the history and profile of Liverpool before, but his hard-won experience of two decades in German football is something Jurgen Klopp admires.
Schmadtke is expected to sign a long-term contract as Liverpool's sporting director — a term close to at least the remaining duration of the deal Klopp signed last year. Telegraph Sport's report on Saturday night that Schmadtke was on the verge of being appointed to Anfield drew controversy over his suitability for the role.
Much has been made of Schmadtke's battles with managers in the past, or the hasty sale of Victor Osimhen — now one of Europe's most wanted to Napoli. But every club he joined improved and competed for places in Europe. Wolfsburg returned to the Champions League last season. Klopp will notice.
Their association dates back to a player meeting at Fortuna Düsseldorf in the late 1980s, when Klopp tried unsuccessfully to secure a contract as a player. At the time, Schmadtke was a legendary goalkeeper and Klopp recently joked that his failure to impress at the time must have left a lasting impression.
“I was only 19 years old, a young guy – thin bones, long hair,” Klopp recalled in an interview with the Wolfsburger Allgemeine in January. “I wanted to impress at Fortuna and fulfill my dream of becoming a professional footballer. I entered the dressing room, very motivated before the court, and then entered the field in the shadow of the Rhine Stadium [Fortuna]."
“I worked very hard. I ran like crazy. Jörg was at the gate. At that time he was a very famous player in Fortuna. What can I say? I was a full bust. Jörg has probably noticed this to this day. In all his jobs, he never made me offers to become a coach.
The story of that day in Düsseldorf was the motif of Klopp's playing career, the struggle to turn professional and then the annual risk game trying to keep Mainz in the second tier of German football to secure another 12 months of paid work.
Klopp signed his first professional contract at the age of 21. By that time, he was already a father and a poor student working part-time. His managerial career, for at least the past 20 years, has been an astonishing trajectory of success and the wealth that comes with it, but it hasn't always been that way. Schmadtke may have had a better playing career, but after that he was forced to reinvent himself. He worked diligently on a small budget, first at Aachen, then at Hannover 96, and then at Cologne and Wolfsburg.
He succeeded in this, and perhaps there is a natural sympathy between two people who have succeeded later than many footballers. When Schmadtke left Wolfsburg last year after four years as sporting director, Klopp praised him, saying: «I would love to work with him, I'm sure it would work well. He is the main character, the one who has never changed in 38 years and has remained true to himself. He will be missed in football.»
The Liverpool manager has never pretended to be thrilled by the idea that the sporting director is a key figure in the club. Even in the years when Michael Edwards and his team were almost exactly wrong in recruiting Klopp's most recent great team, there was no extravagant praise. This is what Klopp expects. In whatever role Schmadtke joins, he will work closely with two of the club's legendary scouts, Dave Fallows and Barry Hunter.
Klopp himself and his assistant Pep Leinders have been instrumental in recruiting over the past 12 months under Edwards' successor Julian Ward, who is leaving this summer. Major signings have confirmed this. Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo recall Leinders' history in Dutch and Portuguese football. Ibrahima Konate came from the Red Bull group, which was a reliable source of information for Liverpool. Schmadtke offers a pan-European experience that Klopp will benefit from.
Position is critical for the club as Michael Edwards (left) left last summer, quickly followed by his successor Julian Ward (right). Photo: Getty Images/Andrew Powell
Another role for Schmadtke, who has been at his most explosive in the past when managers, in his opinion, did not understand the financial constraints of the club he ran. This was the case with coaches such as Mirko Slomka in Hannover or Peter Stoger in Cologne. At Wolfsburg, coach Bruno Labbadia and later Oliver Glasner had disagreements with Schmadtke. Working at Liverpool is completely different. Klopp is king there.
You can expect a new Klopp team working with Schmadtke over the next three years. As Mike Gordon, president of the Fenway Sports Group's ownership group, seeks new investment in the club, it is Klopp and his future that are at the heart of the stability new investors seek.
Plans for this summer will already be well developed. Aurelian Chumeni and now Jude Bellingham have had some hiccups over the past two years. This market was too expensive for Liverpool. Alternatives such as Alexis McAllister, Mason Mount and Matheus Nunez are currently being looked at, but the reality is that for all the success, the club must look for talent away from names that could draw them to auctions with wealthier rivals. /p>
Schmadtke has experience in this, and Klopp trusts him as an ally. This is the most important recommendation that any Liverpool employee needs.
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