Jurgen Klopp

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Lore & Background

Klopp is a notable proponent of Gegenpressing, where the team immediately tries to win back possession after losing it, rather than falling back to regroup. He has described his sides as playing 'heavy metal' football, referencing their pressing and high attacking output. His main influences are Italian coach Arrigo Sacchi and former Mainz coach Wolfgang Frank. Emotion is central to his managerial career, and he has gained both admiration and notoriety for his enthusiastic touchline celebrations. His journey began at Mainz 05, where he took over as manager on 27 February 2001 after Eckhard Krautzun was dismissed. The next day, his first match was a 1–0 home win over MSV Duisburg. He won six of his first seven games, finishing 14th and avoiding relegation with one game to spare. He appointed former teammate Željko Buvač as his assistant, a partnership lasting 17 years. In 2001–02, Mainz finished 4th, narrowly missing promotion, and again 4th in 2002–03, denied on goal difference on the final day. In 2003–04, he led Mainz to a 3rd-place finish, securing first-ever Bundesliga promotion. Despite the smallest budget and stadium, Mainz finished 11th in 2004–05 and 2005–06, qualifying for the 2005–06 UEFA Cup but losing to eventual champions Sevilla in the first round. After relegation in 2006–07, Klopp stayed but resigned after failing to achieve promotion in 2007–08, finishing with 109 wins, 78 draws, and 83 losses.

In Their Own Story

In May 2008, Klopp was approached to become Borussia Dortmund manager. Despite interest from Bayern Munich, he signed a two-year contract at the club, which had finished 13th under Thomas Doll. He appointed Peter Krawietz as assistant manager, who later followed him to Liverpool and Red Bull Leipzig. His opening game was a 3–1 DFB-Pokal win away to Rot-Weiss Essen on 9 August. In his first season, he won the 2008 German Supercup against Bayern Munich and led Dortmund to a 6th-place finish. The next season, he secured European football with a 5th-place finish. In 2010–11, after losing 2–0 to Bayer Leverkusen on opening day, Dortmund won 14 of their next 15 matches to top the table at Christmas. They clinched the Bundesliga title with two games to spare on 30 April 2011, beating 1. FC Nürnberg 2–0 at home, becoming the youngest side ever to win the Bundesliga. In 2011–12, they defended the title with 81 points, the greatest total in Bundesliga history, and set records for second-half points (47), league wins (25, equalling Bayern Munich's record), and a 28-match unbeaten run. On 12 May 2012, Klopp sealed the club's first-ever domestic double by defeating Bayern Munich 5–2 in the DFB-Pokal final, which he described as 'better than [he] could have imagined'. In 2012–13, Dortmund focused on the Champions League, topping a 'group of death' with Manchester City, Real Madrid, and Ajax without losing a game. They faced Real Madrid again in the semi-finals, winning 4–1 at home before a 2–0 loss saw them progress to the final. On 23 April 2013, it was announced that Mario Götze would move to Bayern Munich on 1 July after they triggered his €37 million release clause. Klopp admitted annoyance at the timing, barely 36 hours before the semi-final, and later said Dortmund had no chance of convincing Götze to stay, saying, 'H' (the source cuts off).

Reader's Guide

Klopp's managerial career is defined by his implementation of Gegenpressing and high-intensity football. At Mainz 05, he started with a pressing and counter-pressing system, narrowly missing promotion twice before achieving it in 2003–04. At Borussia Dortmund, he built the youngest squad in the league and won back-to-back Bundesliga titles, a domestic double, and reached the Champions League final. At Liverpool, he guided the club to Champions League finals in 2018 and 2022, winning in 2019 for his first and Liverpool's sixth title. His side finished second in the 2018–19 Premier League with 97 points, then the third-highest total in English top-flight history and the most by a team without winning the title. The following season, he won the UEFA Super Cup and Liverpool's first FIFA Club World Cup, then delivered Liverpool's first Premier League title with a club record 99 points, breaking several top-flight records. He won a cup double of the EFL Cup and FA Cup in 2022, and another EFL Cup in 2024 before departing. After a two-year break, he was appointed head coach of the Germany national team in 2026. Key numbers: 109 wins, 78 draws, 83 losses at Mainz; 81 points in 2011–12 Bundesliga; 97 points in 2018–19 Premier League; 99 points in 2019–20 Premier League. His playing career: 56 goals for Mainz 05 (52 league goals), retiring as their record goal scorer. He obtained a diploma in sports science at Goethe University of Frankfurt in 1995, writing his thesis about walking.

Did You Know?

• Klopp wrote his diploma thesis about walking while studying sports science at Goethe University of Frankfurt.
• He described himself as a player: 'I had fourth-division feet and a first-division head.'
• Klopp's first match as Mainz 05 manager was a 1–0 home win over MSV Duisburg on 28 February 2001.
• He led Borussia Dortmund to a 28-match unbeaten run in the 2011–12 Bundesliga, the best ever in a single German top-flight season.
• Klopp's 2018–19 Liverpool side finished second in the Premier League with 97 points, then the third-highest total in English top-flight history and the most by a team without winning the title.