Klopp's energy fuels Reds… there are fears the exit will mirror Fergie's at Man Utd
WITHIN minutes of Jurgen Klopp announcing he will leave Liverpool, panicked fans were drawing comparisons to Sir Alex Ferguson.
They fear that Klopp's departure from Liverpool in May will do the same thing as Ferguson's departure from Manchester United in 2013.
2
Although Ferguson's tenure at Old Trafford lasted three times longer than Klopp's at Anfield, that is the extent to which the German embodies his team and his club.
It immediately felt impossible to imagine Liverpool being recognizable as Liverpool without Klopp. And it felt very likely that the club would fall into disrepair.
There is no Boot Room now. And while Xabi Alonso is an obvious successor with Liverpool connections, he is a very different character to Klopp.
But while comparisons to Ferguson in 2013 are obvious, the more immediate concern for Kop supporters should be comparisons to Fergie in 2001.
It is often forgotten that the great Scot announced at the start of the 2001-2002 season that the coming season would be his last with the Red Devils, but made a U-turn mid-season.
When Klopp was told about that Ferguson story yesterday, he was surprised he wasn't aware of it. But Ferguson described that announcement as the “biggest mistake I ever made.”
He added: “I think a lot of players had put their tools away. They thought, 'Oh, the manager is leaving'.”
United had just won three titles in a row, but that season they finished third and failed to win any silverware.
FREE BETTS – BEST BETTS & BONUSES FOR NEW CUSTOMERS
While Liverpool are in the hunt for a quadruple player – top of the league, just booked a place in the Carabao Cup final and still going strong in the FA Cup and Europa League – the concern should be that Klopp's announcement will undermine this excellent current will derail the season.
His players will not suddenly lose their desire to dethrone Manchester City as champions or beat Chelsea at Wembley next month.
There will indeed be plenty of talk about 'doing it for Jurgen'.
To give him the perfect farewell by winning the Europa League and FA Cup finals at the end of May.
But subconsciously, the blow you get from knowing that a human considered a force of nature has admitted that he's “out of energy” cannot be underestimated.
Klopp is only 56, fifteen years younger than Ferguson when he finally retired. Twenty years younger than Roy Hodgson.
But during an honest, inspiring press conference yesterday he kept referring to how old he felt.
He said he was “not a young rabbit.” When asked if he would give the board advice about his successor, he replied: “The last thing they need is advice from the old man who is walking away.”
He said he looked like he was much older than nine years since his arrival in October 2015.
RIGHT TIME TO GO
And he admitted he felt “relief” in November when he decided to go. Klopp even started talking about himself in the past tense.
He sounded burned out, insisting he wasn't burned out yet, but was confident he would be burned out by the summer, which isn't how burnout usually works.
This must be worrying for his players. Klopp will have been a constant, life without him was unthinkable until yesterday. Only defender Joe Gomez predates the German's arrival.
Klopp epitomizes this Liverpool side because their greatest attribute is an energy that comes from the manager himself. Watch it every match day.
The way he stands and watches the opponent from the halfway line during their warm-up, while rival bosses catch their breath.
The way he kicks every ball and addresses every fourth official. The way he celebrates routine victories so exuberantly for the Kop.
Then watch his team press the opponent with murderous intent, suffocate them and attack with such speed and focus.
Klopp and his team of mentality monsters are one. And how Klopp has embraced his adopted city's 'us against the world' mentality, their outsider identity and their 'This Means More' romanticism.
Even yesterday, when he announced the mother of all distractions, he claimed the only distractions would come from an “outside world” desperate to derail his trophy-chasing team.
FOREVER RED
He may be German, but he's more Scouse than most Scousers. Klopp is a great English club management. Yes, there has been 'only' one European Cup and 'only' one national title.
But between 2018 and 2022, the Reds reached three Champions League finals and achieved at least 92 Premier League points three times – a figure Fergie achieved only once.
And after last season's slump, Klopp has refreshed his midfield and revitalized his team to such an extent that their only defeat in 27 home games came in the VAR-inflicted farce at Tottenham.
It is exceptional that a club without state funding from Manchester City has challenged Pep Guardiola's team so often.
While there is resentment on the terraces and in the boardroom between City and Liverpool, there is great respect between Guardiola and Klopp.
Guardiola often refers to Klopp as his biggest rival and motivation.
The Catalan has been at the Etihad for just eight months less than Klopp has ruled Liverpool, and the two share an obsessive workaholism.
Klopp's announcement is a reminder that even the most ruthless men still have limits.
For now, Guardiola will see this as a boost before another classic City-Liverpool title arrives.
Klopp's admission of exhaustion is not a sign of weakness. His self-awareness is commendable.
Yet, when a manager announces he is leaving, the dynamics of a football club change. Just ask Ferguson.