Jurgen-Klopp LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 25: Jurgen Klopp manager of Borussia Dortmund laughs during a Borussia Dortmund press conference, ahead of the UEFA Champions League Group D match against Arsenal, at Emirates Stadium on November 25, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)

Jurgen Klopp confirmed as new Liverpool manager

Posted by on Oct 8, 2015 09:38

Jurgen Klopp, King of the Kop

Sky Sports and the Liverpool Echo have announced that former Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp will be taking the reigns at Anfield after a whirlwind week that saw them sack ex-manager Brendan Rodgers in the aftermath of the Merseyside Derby. The official confirmation from Liverpool is expected to follow shortly. We will update when that time arrives.

UPDATE (4:00 PM ET 10/8/15): Liverpool’s Twitter account has tweeted confirmation that Klopp has indeed signed the contract.

Following the firing of Rodgers, Jurgen Klopp’s name was one of the first to be shouted by the supporters. It was soon followed by former AC Milan, Chelsea, PSG and Real Madrid (and three time UEFA Champions League winner) Carlo Ancelotti, as well as Ajax manager Frank de Boer.

What followed was a battle royale of Twitter “in-the-knows” sounding off behind who they thought would get the job. Shortly after this, more reliable journalists (@TonyBarrettTimes and @JamesPearceEcho) reported that Klopp was the front runner.

It became clear very quickly that Klopp was the man FSG wanted to take Liverpool forward. It was just coming down to formalities.

The Playing Style

Now that it is official, what can Liverpool, and the rest of the league, expect from Klopp of the Kop? The closest thing, stylistically, we have to compare is Liverpool of 2013/14. The crazy, high pressing, all action style is exactly what Jurgen Klopp wants out of his teams. Now, they might not be as free-scoring as the 2013/14 squad without one Luis Suarez, but stylistically, they should be similar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwuBfaNm53I

Klopp also prefers to play with a single striker in a 4-2-3-1, but it wouldn’t be out of the question to see him adapting that. If there is to be a single striker, the obvious choice would be Daniel Sturridge, with his pace, finishing ability and pressing. This isn’t to say that Christian Benteke will be the odd man out, though. On the contrary, Klopp has something of an affinity for powerful strikers, in Robert Lewandowski. Benteke isn’t on the same level as the Polish hit man, but he could be used in a similar method.

In the midfield, Jordan Henderson seems to be a dream player for the German manager, and he will have a lot of talent to work with in Emre Can, Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho. The pieces are definitely there to build the team that Jurgen Klopp would want to work with. The defense might need some tweaking, but, again, there are pieces there for him to work with.

The Manager

Finally, the fans can expect passion from their new manager. Rodgers could usually be counted on to show he cared, but Jurgen Klopp is on another level. Simply put, he does everything like it is the most important thing in the world. He’s so famous for his wild celebrations, the Bundesliga made a Top 10 Celebrations list:

For Liverpool fans, you can expect that week in and week out. He’s going to bring that passion and excitement back to Liverpool. It can only be described as infectious and the Kopites will certainly be catching on to the excitement.

It’s certainly an exciting time to be a Liverpool fan, and a fan of the EPL in general. Jurgen Klopp is an exciting manager and we can look forward to him bringing that excitement back to one of the deflated giants of the Premier League.

About Jeff Snyder

Jeff Snyder is a professional writer and has been in sports broadcast for almost half a decade. You can follow him on Twitter at @TheJackAnty.

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