He was the self-proclaimed ‘ordinary one’. Despite the mocking from Jose Mourinho, the ordinary one was unmoved. A man with a calm temperament off the field, Jurgen Klopp rather showcases his footballing passion on the touchline. Constantly evaluating the game through his spectacles he is not afraid to make the bravest of decisions. And mind you, no player ever disrespects or contradicts his decision. Looks like Klopp never demands or begs for respect, he chooses to earn it instead.
The German did not have a highly decorated career as a player but as a manager, he certainly revolutionized underdog football. In an era monopolized by a start-studded Munich, Klopp led Dortmund to back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012, 2 DFB Supercups and 1 DFB pokal trophy. He has always been the kind of manager who makes the most out of the resources he already has. His stint at Dortmund brought him under the limelight of the top European clubs.
Europe has not always been a fairytale for Klopp’s career. In 2013 as the manager of Dortmund, he suffered a bitter defeat against arch-rivals Munich. In a tight game at Wembley, Klopp’s Dortmund equalized from the penalty spot with the help of Gundogan. The score was 1-1 and in the dying minutes of the game Robben showed his individual brilliance and rolled the ball past the Dortmund goalkeeper. It was a heart-break for Dortmund and for Klopp in particular. But Klopp appeared calm and focused about the next season.
He departed from Dortmund a few years down the line and after having been a few months without a club he was chosen by the English club Liverpool to take over the reins. At Liverpool, he had a decent start domestically but in 2016 he helped Liverpool all the way into the Europa League final where they were up against the defending champions Sevilla. Klopp’s Liverpool gave away a first-half one-goal lead to eventually lose the tie by 3-1. Three goals conceded in the second half, and Klopp was at the feet of another European heartbreak.
Two years down Liverpool became domestic giants under the leadership of Klopp. Klopp trusted the talents of players like Salah and Sadio Mane and made them the spearheads of a dominant attacking side. In 2018, Liverpool reached the Champions League final knocking out domestic giants Manchester City convincingly. They were up against two-times defending champions Real Madrid. Klopp lost Salah due to an arm injury in a tussle with the Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos. It was a big setback for Liverpool but still, they managed to score a goal courtesy of a determined finish from Sadio Mane. But Salah’s injury wasn’t the only setback Liverpool were to get that night. Karius, the goalkeeper guarding Klopp’s net might’ve played the worst match of his entire career as he let in two bizarre goals and one wonder goal. First, he helped out Benzema roll the ball into the net by losing the ball to him trying to get past him. Then a long-range shot from Bale which could’ve been held or punched away was instead deflected into the net by his very own wrists. In between these two bizarre goals, Bale had managed to pull off a bicycle kick. Karius was left in tears after the final whistle, the reds from Merseyside were left in frustration and Klopp was left with hard-luck in Europe yet again.
A year down the line Klopp proved his haters that Liverpool deserved to be in the final again. This time they knocked out favorites Barcelona in the semi-finals and not only did they knock them out they did that with a lot of character and sheer spirit underlining their home performance at Anfield. Without Salah, they made a comeback to score four goals in the second leg and won the tie 3-4 on aggregate. Klopp’s Liverpool was on their way to a second consecutive final. From here there was no looking back, they were favorites against the domestic rival Tottenham and Liverpool calmly won the game by 2 goals.
Klopp finally got his hands onto the European Holy Grail and with that win he became a yet another footballing example to the world. His purpose was never personal glory, he wanted to get the best for every team that he managed. His motive was purely unconditional, he didn’t complain or demand better players from his club nor did he complain about any defeat. And lastly he was persistent, 2018 final was a big setback and when the world thought that Liverpool could never get lucky enough to reach a Champions League final again, he proved the whole world wrong by not being broken or giving up on excellence. He fought his way back to the final all over again and made a clear statement to the critics that his teams must never be considered lucky or a one-season-wonder.
As the German stood on the FIFA Best awards pedestal with the Coach-of-the-year accolade clenched in his palms his ever-lustrous smile was still the same as it was when he faced three European setbacks. He didn’t demand respect ever, his work earned it for him. He was not always a winner but as they say “the most reliable factor for success is Persistence.”
The Holy Soccrament 