Jurgen Klopp has done wonders at Liverpool since joining in October of 2015.
At that point, the Reds were 10th in the Premier League table and in disarray after Brendan Rodgers’ sacking. And in that first campaign, the 52-year-old could only lead them to eighth place in the division, but ever since then, they have been on an upward spiral.
They have qualified for the Champions League in each term since then, and have made it to the final twice – winning once as well. Now, they top the league by 10 points and have won an astonishing 16 of their opening 17 games in the division in 2019/20.
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Their victory against Monterrey means they are now in the final of the Club World Cup, and if they beat Flamengo on Saturday, they will win the intercontinental trophy for the first time in their history. It would cap off an incredible year for Klopp and his men, and a title win in May would cement his position as one of the greatest managers in the club’s history.
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Unsurprisingly, him and his players have come in for praise for people all over the footballing world. One of those to be impressed is former Barcelona star Xavi Hernandez.
Speaking to FIFA.com, he said: “When Jurgen Klopp came in, the one worry for me was whether he would evolve, adapt, change, really from 4-3-3, constant pressing all the time. Will his teams ever not be involved in end-to-end basketball games? Will he sort the defence out? I didn’t think he would. [The success they’ve had] is because of the changes Klopp has brought in and that’s the biggest testament to him as a manager.”
He added: “They’re a very difficult team to attack. Physically they’re very strong. They win all the second balls and they also work really hard on their tactics. They’re dominant in so many areas of the game.
“Their transitions in attack and defence are just about perfect: how they defend, how they drop back, how they hit hard on the counter, the pace of their players and above all the intensity Klopp gives them.”
Adulation and applause does not come much better than that. The 39-year-old is one of the greatest players ever to have played the game, managing 769 appearances for Barcelona during his time with the club. He has won all there is to win in the game as a player – he has La Liga, Champions League, Club World Cup, World Cup and European Championship medals, amongst others, in his trophy cabinet – and he was also capped 133 times by Spain.
He is someone who was at the very top of the game for a number of years giving Klopp and Liverpool in-depth praise. He knows all about high-intensity, pressing football – this is something we saw during Pep Guardiola’s spell as Barcelona manager – and he clearly admires what the former Borussia Dortmund manager has done on Merseyside.
When legends such as Xavi are astonished, you can appreciate just how good this Liverpool team is. The supporters will be hoping it continues for the foreseeable future.
Elsewhere, Liverpool fans react to this man’s display against Aston Villa in the League Cup.
