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The backbone of the Lord is gone, and the passion is gone! Where is the Liverpool road that lost Klopp?
Only a deranged person would claim that Klopp is not on the same level as some of the greatest coaches in English football – including the illustrious figures in the club's history who he will leave at the end of May.
Jurgen Klopp has achieved more than anyone expected of him at the beginning of his tenure. His last game could be the Europa League final in Dublin. If Liverpool wins, he will lift the trophy of all the competitions he has played in since coming to Liverpool nine years ago.
In terms of his contribution to Liverpool's rebuild, it's only fair to compare Klopp to the Reds' legendary coach Bill Shankly. When Jurgen Klopp took over Liverpool, the team was in a state of collapse, a team with no fighting spirit and no cohesion, and Liverpool fans had no hope for the team. That team doesn't seem to have any presence. It was against that backdrop that Jurgen Klopp led the team to the League Cup and Europa League finals in his first season in charge of Liverpool. These may be seen as his greatest achievements in the early years of his tenure at the helm of the Red Army.
Jurgen Klopp's ability to use his talent to meet the challenge of competing with Manchester City should not be underestimated. In fact, Pep Guardiola and the City owners should be thankful that Jurgen Klopp has become a strong rival for them, as it will make the Premier League look more competitive. Without Jurgen Klopp, criticism of City's dominance of the Premier League could have been even louder.
The Klopp era can be divided into two periods: the first period was decided by him, Mike Gordon (president of Fenway Group) and Michael Edwards (sporting director).
It all came to an end in 2021. At that time, Edwards officially decided it was time to leave Liverpool. Despite an amicable parting at the club, the truth is that Jurgen Klopp is starting to have more of a voice within the squad. He also won the Champions League and the Premier League during that time. Edwards was here before Jurgen Klopp took over Liverpool. He could sense the shift and decided it would be best to quit early.
After a long farewell, Liverpool are fully of Jurgen Klopp's team. That's not to say he's always in control. Fenway didn't approve everything he wanted, but as Edwards' successor, Julian Ward, and the acclaimed team of analysts discovered, the head coach's opinion was more popular than anyone else's — they lost veteran data analyst Ian Graham in the summer of 2022.
Klopp admits: "My role has been dominant for many years. While not intentionally, this is what happened. He announced his decision to leave at the end of the season on Friday morning, which will be his last season in charge at Anfield.
In an exclusive interview with Liverpool's official television, Klopp admitted that his influence was so much greater than anyone expected that he completely rebuilt the team.
Proof of this is that he came to Liverpool with a sporting director, and by the time he left Liverpool, the club was left without a sporting director. He has changed the team's sporting director twice – most recently Schmadek in that role was a subordinate of Jurgen Klopp.
In the short term, there doesn't seem to be much of a problem. Sometimes, people hope that tomorrow will never come. If Liverpool win a second Premier League title in their history under Jurgen Klopp, it may be acceptable for the team to wait for a third title under someone else's leadership.
But what if the wait is as long as Manchester United's? It's been 11 years since Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill left United in the same summer. They are no closer to the Premier League title than they were when they sacked Alex Moyes, Alex Ferguson's successor, seven months after that.
History often proves that the more power a manager has, the harder it is to be replaced by someone else. And when he leaves, the more likely it is that the club will suffer a major blow as a result. The same thing happened to Arsenal after Arsene Wenger's departure. In the end, the head coach even exaggerated enough to decide what brand of detergent to use for the team's uniforms.
Although Klopp's control is not so outrageously strong, he still has absolute authority in the team. He's a very emotional manager, sometimes generous and charming, sometimes aggressive and unreasonable – he's not always the kind of guy who gets along well with his staff. What makes him an outstanding manager? He did his job well. For Liverpool fans, that's all that matters.
There is no doubt that Jurgen Klopp is a manager who can get along with the players. In tough times, like last season, they never attacked him, although some in the team may have questioned his decision. Jurgen Klopp has always been highly respected by the players due to the good relationship he has built with the players.
On Friday, Jurgen Klopp said one of his proudest achievements was completing Liverpool 20, which he believes will help his successor continue to coach the team better. In terms of performance on the training ground, yes – absolutely. Even more encouragingly, he will also leave behind a much younger, more flexible squad than it was at the same time last year. Although there are still concerns about the impact of Klopp's departure on the contracts of three of Liverpool's best players, Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk.
To some extent, it should be the other departments of the club that need to be restructured, especially those that have been added or neglected in order to fit Klopp's vision. This may be useful to him, but it will not necessarily prove to be helpful to his successor. Liverpool plan to appoint a sporting director before finding a new manager. When Klopp calmly reflects on his decision, perhaps he will come to the conclusion that he is really exhausted after taking on so much responsibility.