Saying Goodbye To A Club Legend
Earlier last week, Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp announced he’ll be leaving the club come the end of the season following nine years at Anfield.
In an emotional message posted by the club’s media, the German mastermind remarked “I will leave the club at the end of the season. I can understand that it’s a shock for a lot of people in this moment, when you hear it for the first time, but obviously I can explain it – or at least try to explain it.”
He cited reasons for his decision that sent shockwaves around the footballing globe “It is that I am, how can I say it, running out of energy. I have no problem now, obviously, I knew it already for longer that I will have to announce it at one point, but I am absolutely fine now. I know that I cannot do the job again and again and again and again.”
Over the course of the week, Klopp answered questions aplenty, from those claiming that he will never manage an English club again, to his decision being final and there being no possibility of a U-turn.
Klopp shepherded the Reds to seven trophies – he really won it all.
He will end his tenure as one of Liverpool’s best managers. As of today, no other coach at the club oversaw a better win rate, and at the time of writing, the 56-year-old has won 199 league matches. These esteemed numbers simply cannot do justice to the culture he’s created within the red half of Merseyside.
A virtuoso in every sense of the word, the charismatic boss has brought countless memories to English football, taking Liverpool from being “also rams”, to a force to be reckoned with in Europe.
Therefore, we shall try to list five great games which did the most to cement Klopp’s legacy with the club.
Leicester City 0-4 Liverpool
Liverpool took second-placed Leicester City to the cleaners on Boxing Day, 2019, announcing themselves as the sole challengers and pacesetters that season.
They would go on to finish with 99 points and wrap up the campaign with a whopping 32 wins. Yet, this one felt just that little more special because of the all-round performance.
They controlled the game from start to finish, with a brace from Roberto Firmino, accompanied by goals from James Milner and Trent Alexander-Arnold to run roughshod over the opposition.
Klopp went on to describe the win as one of his best, if not the most impressive one.
Norwich City 4-5 Liverpool
Liverpool fans saw the first glimpse of a man who has always worn his heart on his sleeve. Adam Lallana’s 95th minute strike sent Klopp sprinting up and down the touch line; the celebrations were so intense that he managed to break his pair of glasses and hurt his nose.
It was one of the most frantic matches of the season by a considerable distance. It exemplified what Liverpool would go on to evolve into under Klopp – ruthless, fearless and a common notion that goes around – mentality monsters.
In a topsy-turvy state of affairs, Sebastian Bassong’s 92nd minute leveler had Carrow Road bouncing, but Lallana’s left-footed effort from 10 yards out was the telling touch of the game.
Liverpool 5-2 AS Roma
The Reds’ staging against AS Roma in the opening hour was a warning sign for the rest of Europe. Jurgen Klopp had his heavy metal artists flowing like an orchestra, such was the symphony and harmony amongst the players.
Led by none other than Mohamed Salah – with two goals and as many assists – Liverpool’s stunning, free-flowing football stunned Roma in the first leg. His partners in crime, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, got themselves on the score sheet as well. The famous front three under Klopp will be fondly remembered as his linchpins for decades to come.
The Italian capital side had stepped into the game in high spirits, having taken down Barcelona in the quarters. It was, indeed, quite startling how a beatific Liverpool put them to the sword.
Liverpool 7-0 Manchester United
Allow us to take the backseat, the scoreline will do the talking.
Few changes in and around the club fell in tandem with Liverpool’s league form, having started the first half of the season miles adrift of the Champions League spots.
They went on a stellar run at the end of the term, though, with this rout of old foes Manchester United marking their resurgence in early March.
Almost as if they were having fun, Liverpool landed one punch after another on their opponents, as Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah all saw the double. A departing Firmino iced the cake with a dazzling goal to round off the 7-0 win.
The Reds have shown time and time again, they don’t hold back when leading by a couple of goals. They can embarrass their opponents to extents unknown, and this was a printed catalog of the same.
Liverpool 4-0 FC Barcelona
The verdict that Liverpool’s comeback second leg win over Barcelona upstages the night at Istanbul against AC Milan in 2005 tells you everything you need to know about the otherworldly experience at a deafening Anfield that evening.
Outplayed by a Lionel Messi-led Blaugrana in the first leg, Klopp and co. had to go for the jugular from the first minute at their fortress.
The game had everything from the home team’s perspective. The side stepped up without Salah or Firmino. Georginio Wijnaldum scored two goals, as did popular cult-hero Divock Origi, turning in that quickly taken corner from Alexander-Arnold.
The Reds won the tie 4-3, and there was little stopping them from denying Tottenham Hotspur their hands on the coveted Champions League crown, lifting their sixth in the process.
As good as each of the triumphs were, the moments larger than football, orchestrated by the relationship between Klopp and Anfield, will stand out over anything else.
No wonder he received an intensely emotional reception at Anfield in the FA Cup on Sunday.
-Roy Akarshak
Twitter: @RoyAkarshak
Photo: cchana. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.