Every Christmas, he ordered his players to serve beer to fans.
Liverpool, meet your new manager.
Jurgen
Klopp certainly isn't typical but his eccentricity didn't stop him from
becoming one of the most sought after and popular coaches in all of
world football.
Klopp signed a three-year contract on Thursday, joining the famous but fading Reds after they sacked the perfectly nice although less charismatic Brendan Rodgers.
And
although the 48-year-old German has a well-earned reputation for the
unconventional, he marked his first press conference in England Friday
by declaring he was "the normal one" -- a witty alteration to Chelsea
manager Jose Mourinho's description of himself as the "special one" when
he first pitched up in England 11 years ago.
That modest understatement had a short shelf-life, however.
Klopp
went on to describe the expectations that surround Liverpool as "cool"
and predict that he can lead the team to the English championship for
the first time in a quarter of a century.
"We
can wait for it but I don't want to say we can wait 20 years. If we sit
here in four years I think we'll have won one title -- I'm pretty
sure," he said.
Klopp once joked he couldn't understood the Liverpudlian accent but in football language is less important than victories.
If
the 48-year-old can transform Liverpool's fortunes, though, German
might just become the second most popular dialect on the Anfield
terraces.
"You have to change from doubters to believers," he said. "We have to start anew and see what happens this year.
"This is a great club with big potential, fast players, strong players, good defenders. Everything is there (for success)."
Klopp
transformed Borussia Dortmund from sleeping giant to double Bundesliga
champion, a true rival to behemoth Bayern Munich and a force to be
reckoned with across Europe.
Indeed
Dortmund -- whose fans are every bit as passionate as Liverpool's --
came close to being crowned European champions in 2013, narrowly losing
2-1 to Bayern in the 2013 Champions League final.
"We
have a bow and arrow and if we aim well, we can hit the target," Klopp
once said of Dortmund's heated rivalry with Bayern, according to the
Daily Mail. "The problem is that Bayern has a bazooka. The probability
that they will hit the target is clearly higher. But then Robin Hood was
apparently quite successful."
Liverpool,
of course, would take an instant league title to end 25 years of
torment but finishing in a Champions League position this season would
instantly endear Klopp to the Kop faithful.
On
paper it appears doable. Liverpool only sits three points behind
fourth, with not many, either, expecting Crystal Palace to retain its
lofty position in the standings.
At
the same time, however, even if defending champion Chelsea is slumping
badly, the Blues trail Liverpool by four points and logic dictates that
at some stage the west Londoners will wake up.
Klopp's
penchant for developing young players and ensuring teams are
competitive while losing top stars will give Liverpool backers hope.
Yet
whereas Bayern is the lone financial powerhouse in Germany, Liverpool
must contend with Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United and
Arsenal in the Premier League.
Further, in the short term, how will Klopp fare with a Rodgers-shaped squad that has largely flopped?
In
the wake of Rodgers' departure, Jamie Carragher, who played with
distinction for Liverpool for 17 years, criticized Liverpool's hierarchy
including U.S. owner Fenway Sports Group.
"At
this moment their track record in making decisions for Liverpool
Football Club over the past two or three years has not been good
enough," Carragher said in his role as a pundit for British broadcaster
Sky, a role Klopp is also familiar with. "It's miles off."
So there's another potential issue for Klopp.
Klopp's
wife, Ulla, has penned children's books. A new chapter in Liverpool's
history is being written, with Klopp the charismatic man in charge.







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