Fans over at Anfield are not in the best of mood despite their team currently standing on top of the Premier League table because of the recent Premier League 2024 news that their manager, Jurgen Klopp, is leaving them at the end of this season.
In his latest appearance on LFCTV, the German gaffer said that one of the main reasons he has decided to step down is because he is “running out of energy” after being in charge for the last nine years. Fortunately, this doesn’t mean that he has a serious health problem, although his admission meant that he was burned out.
Tributes will pour in for Jurgen Klopp in these next few weeks, and SBOTOP will try to do the same by chronicling his amazing adventure on the red side of Merseyside.
Klopp’s journey before England
Jurgen Klopp started his football journey back at home in Germany, where he spent most of his playing career at Mainz. Upon retiring for good in 2001, Klopp became the club’s manager and managed to secure Bundesliga promotion in 2004.
Unfortunately for the 05ers, they couldn’t maintain their German top-flight status in the 2006-07 season, which led to Klopp moving on to Borussia Dortmund.
It was at Dortmund that Klopp emerged as one of the most talented managers in Europe.
In his seven years at Signal Iduna Park, Klopp led BVB to their last Bundesliga titles in 2010-11 and 2011-12. He also guided them to the 2012-13 Champions League final, as well as two DFL-Supercups (2012-13 and 2013-14) and one DFB-Pokal (2011-12).
In 2015, Klopp left Borussia Dortmund as their longest-serving manager. With everything he has done for the club, he got his fitting farewell, which left him visibly emotional.
What Klopp achieved in Liverpool
When he was appointed Liverpool manager in 2015, Jurgen Klopp called for patience from the supporters, as he was overseeing a full-scale rebuild. That was evident in his first year in charge since the Reds only finished sixth in the table.
However, slowly but surely, things fell into place for Klopp and the Reds, with the help of several key signings like Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Allisson, Andy Robertson, Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Fabinho, and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
With these stalwarts, Klopp successfully installed his “heavy metal” football, which was borne out of the Gegenpressing that he learned in Germany. This particular style of football has brought out the best of his players, like Salah and van Dijk, both of whom were once top candidates for the Ballon d’Or.
Since 2016-17, Liverpool have only been out of the top four once in 2022-23. That includes numerous trips to the Champions League, where they went to the finals three times and eventually won it in 2018-19.
And they won the 2018-19 edition in magical fashion, as during the semi-finals, Liverpool pulled off a miraculous four-goal comeback, capped off by Divock Origi’s last-gasp goal, to vanquish Barcelona via a 4-3 aggregate tally.
After beating Tottenham in the final, Liverpool managed to win the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. The Reds also won the FA Cup, EFL Cup, and Community Shield in 2022.
But arguably the biggest achievement for Liverpool under the German manager was when they finally won their first Premier League trophy in 30 years.
After coming up short against Manchester City in 2018-19, the Reds flexed their dominance the following season, as they finished with at least an 18-point lead to secure the once-elusive crown amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Klopp will never walk alone
Winning a second Premier League title this season is certainly going to be the icing on the cake for Klopp’s long tenure at Liverpool, and the updated Premier League 2024 odds like their chances of doing so.
But more than the victories and the trophies, Reds fans will certainly miss Jurgen Klopp’s energy and enthusiasm on and off the pitch. He’s right when he says that managing a big club like Liverpool took a lot out of him, which is why he plans to take a sabbatical this summer.
Regardless of what happens from here on out, it’s mission accomplished for Jurgen Klopp, as he will bequeath the squad in much better shape than he first came in nine years ago. Klopp will leave the Premier League with the distinction of being one of the greatest managers ever. He should be at least in the top five alongside the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, and Arsene Wenger.
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