Klopp has always been the perfect fit for Liverpool. Photo: Getty Images/Chris Brunskill
When I was told that Jurgen Klopp was taking over as the main player announced on Friday, my first thought was excitement.
“Brilliant. He must be signing a new contract.”
After I saw the news that he was leaving at the end of the season, my heart sank. I honestly thought it was some kind of hoax or a cruel joke.
The immediate reference point was the resignation of Kenny Dalglish in 1991, when Liverpool were top of the league and preparing for an FA Cup replay with Everton. . I was an Everton fan back then and was glad Kenny left.
This is the greatest sign of the manager's class. When opponents celebrate leaving, it shows how much the coach is admired and feared.
Tributes to Klopp will continue to pour in until May. The biggest compliment is that he not only made people happy, as the famous slogan on the Bill Shankly statue near the Kop says, but also changed people's lives by recreating the European glory nights synonymous with Anfield.
Klopp's legacy at Liverpool is assured. Photo: Shutterstock/ADAM VAUGHAN
It's all too easy to forget where Liverpool stood when Klopp arrived in 2015. Apart from winning the Champions League, the club barely participated in it for some time. We finished outside the top five in all but one of the six seasons leading up to Klopp's appointment.
There was a point when it seemed like times when Liverpool were competing with Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United United» are gone forever. because they were all able to invest more in players and salaries than Klopp.
The fact that Klopp has competed so consistently for top honors puts him alongside Pep Guardiola as the best coach in the world.
When he leaves, having presumably returned Liverpool to elite competition and hopefully having celebrated more trophies, he will have restored the club's status as one of Europe's biggest off the pitch. However, last year was the only anomaly in an otherwise unusual reign.
It's hard to escape the thought that these miserable 12 months have brought us to this point. We like to think of these legendary managers as superhumans. They are not. It must have drained his energy to the point where he feels like his tank is running low.
There were moments after Liverpool's poor performances last season when I wondered how much longer Klopp would play – if he had the motivation to start over and rebuild a new team, passing on his ideas to the next generation.
The team's form since the start of this season has eased these concerns. This makes the moment now so shocking. Having laid the groundwork, why hand it over to someone else, especially a coach who may have a different vision or cannot build the same strong personal relationships with team leaders? This is the most important decision — to let go now.
The rest of the season will be very emotional. My instinct is that instead of immediate destruction, the team and club will move towards their goals on a wave of passion. The atmosphere at Anfield was already guaranteed to be tense during the title race. Can you imagine what it will be like now? Everyone will want to savor every minute of Klopp's tenure as Liverpool manager, knowing they are witnessing the final events of an era that will be talked about forever. He can succeed by winning a second league title.
I am concerned about the long term because, like Dalglish and Shankly, Klopp will leave such a vacuum. At the moment, Klopp is Liverpool. No one in world football can think of one without the other.
Finding the right person to lead Liverpool is as difficult as it can be at any time. Klopp's replacement? All the best.
Fenway Sports Group must begin its search knowing that its entire staff is leaving with it, and that German sporting director Jörg Schmadtke is also leaving soon. This is too radical a reform in a short period of time.
FSG also knows that the requirements for a Liverpool manager are unique. Klopp is more than a coach.
In most clubs, managers pass through. If you ask fans whether they would rather keep their coach or their star players, they will most likely answer «players.» Ask Liverpool fans whether they would rather see Klopp stay and the club sell Mohamed Salah and they would unanimously thank the player and wish him all the best for the future.
Like Shankly and Dalglish, Klopp instantly connected with the Merseyside crowd. His core social values resonate with them as much as his football philosophy. I'm not sure there is any club in world football where the personality of the manager — and even his political views — are decisive in whether they are accepted by the fans.
Klopp never had to learn how do it. contact Cope. It was as if he was born to become a Liverpool manager.
This is one of the reasons why Xabi Alonso is already considered the natural heir. From day one, it seemed like Xabi was born to be a Liverpool player. Since he is my former teammate, it is not surprising that so many people are calling for his appointment. I would love for Xabi to get that chance.
Carragher, Gerrard, Alonso and Reyna in 2006 Photo: Reuters/NIGEL RODDIS
He fits the bill as a former Liverpool player who knows the club and the city, is adored by the fans and has already shown in the Bundesliga that he is one of the brightest young managers in the world. His wealth of experience playing under some of the greatest managers of his generation — Rafa Benitez, Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola — means it is only a matter of time before he is appointed by one of the elite clubs. You can never choose the right time for such an opportunity. Perhaps this will happen now.
Roberto de Zerbi of Brighton & Hove Albion should also be on FSG's radar. What the two outstanding candidates have in common is a similarity to Borussia Dortmund's Klopp, namely using the resources at their disposal to punch above their weight while playing exciting football.
The challenge for a successor comes from Klopp. shadow. The good news is that they will lead a club and a team unrecognizable from what Klopp inherited.
Klopp arrived in Liverpool with fans dreaming of becoming champions. I hope he takes over a trophy-winning team and extends the similarities with Shankly — his foundational work ensuring his departure signals the start of a triumphant new Kop era rather than the end.
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