Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool, 10 Years On: All Belief, No Doubt

It's 10 years since Jürgen Klopp was appointed as manager of Liverpool. To celebrate, an excerpt from a book I started on the German's tenure.

When Jürgen Klopp announced he was leaving Liverpool, the world was shocked. And stunned. With hindsight, it looks like one of the best decisions he ever made. Imagine carrying the weight of responsibility for the success of the Reds. I get tired thinking about it, never mind doing the job for almost nine years.

After the dust settled on his resignation, I had the idea of writing a book about his Liverpool tenure. Real life, personal and professional, soon pushed that idea to the back of the cupboard. Other, better writers inevitably got there first too.

But I made a start, drafting a couple of sections. The idea was to have a chapter on each season, with one half a general look at something related to that campaign, the other an analysis of a key match from it. But not a look at a 4-0 win over Barcelona or a 7-0 thumping of Manchester United, rather a more forgotten game which proved to be important in a different way. These chapters would be interspersed with others on other aspects of Klopp’s Liverpool; the collegiate approach behind the scenes, his spikey relationship with referees, and so on.

Chances are the book will never happen; the moment has certainly passed, for one thing. As such, the 10th anniversary of Klopp’s appointment seems the perfect time to share what I had in mind for the first half of chapter one. The content remains valid, even if the German has now long since gone.

I may yet share what else I wrote at some point. For now, cast your mind back to the October international break in 2015. You’ll find a Liverpool team in need of a new manager and some positive momentum…

Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool: All Belief, No Doubt

“We have to change from doubter to believer. Now.”

Any book on Jürgen Klopp has to contain his famous quips. How could you write about such a charismatic, engaging personality without referring to some of his most memorable soundbites? Some managers make you wonder how they ever inspire anybody when you hear them mumbling along in interviews. Not Klopp.

The above line was the final answer he gave when speaking to Liverpool’s official channels after the club had appointed him to be their 20^th manager on October 8, 2015. Klopp had been asked to round off the chat with his message to Reds’ supporters. They were the most important nine words he uttered in his nine seasons in England.