One weekend, European football dropped two bombshells, and the managers of the two giants of the Premier League and La Liga announced their departures one after another. Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp and Barcelona boss Xavi have both opted to leave the club at the end of the season. The difference is that Klopp burned out of passion and chose to leave on his own, while Xavi was in a declining performance and reluctantly chose the latter between being fired and self-cut.
Jurgen Klopp reshapes Liverpool
On January 28, Liverpool, England, 23/24 FA Cup fourth round, Liverpool Vs Norwich, fans in the stands put up signs to thank Klopp
Judging from the team's situation, Liverpool currently continues to lead the Premier League, from the Champions League to the League Cup, maintaining the possibility of winning the title, so Klopp's departure is even more special.
To put it mildly, after Jurgen Klopp's arrival, Liverpool are back in the Premier League, not just on the show. When he joined in 2015, Anfield's average attendance was about the same as Sunderland's. He inherited a team of Steven Cork, Joe Allen and Lazar Malkovic (by the way, Shenhua's Teixeira was also at Liverpool at the time).
Jurgen Klopp is a manager who is very good at developing the potential of his players and developing his stars. He has brought up stars such as Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, Sadio, Mane, Firmino and Robertson, who are at the heart of Liverpool and Manchester City's battle for supremacy. Following Klopp's departure, the German Football Transfer Market website compiled a ranking of coaches with the highest transfer spending since 2000. Pep Guardiola topped the list with 78 signings for 2.04 billion euros. Klopp, on the other hand, signed 85 people and spent 1.13 billion euros to rank 10th.
On October 8, 2015, in England, 15/16 Premier League, Klopp officially signed with Liverpool and became the new manager of the Reds.
On a technical and tactical level, his gradual transformation of Liverpool has been fruitful. From the early fluctuations of being strong and weak to being a steady output, he has brought his unique heavy metal pressing football from Borussia Dortmund to the Premier League and reinvented it for the fast-moving modern game. Liverpool have become more controlling, more possession-oriented, more complex, less chaotic, less reliant on counter-attacks, less reliant on passion.
Jurgen Klopp took charge of Liverpool in 2015 and Pep Guardiola arrived in the Premier League a year later. The two have been fighting in the Premier League for almost eight seasons. During that time, Pep Guardiola won five Premier League titles, while Jurgen Klopp led Liverpool to a dominant performance in 2019/20, winning their first Premier League title in the club's history, 18 points behind second-placed Manchester City. The two borrowed from each other, and these eight years of duo performances created the best football on English pitches, as well as the best football games. In the past few seasons, it is the Liverpool family that can really put pressure on Manchester City. Pep Guardiola has won two of those five titles, just one point ahead of Jurgen Klopp. No wonder Pep Guardiola, after hearing the news of Klopp's departure at the end of the season, joked: "Next season, I'll sleep a little better." ”
Under Jurgen Klopp's guidance, Liverpool have won all the major tournaments: the Champions League, the three major competitions in England and the Club World Cup. But to be fair, Liverpool should have won more honours had it not been for the two teams in their prime. At the Premier League level, Pep Guardiola's Manchester City is outrageously stable. At the Champions League level, Real Madrid, Liverpool played Real Madrid four times, two finals and two knockout rounds, and all of them were lost. It's a bit of an inopportune time. But these "regrets" and "ifs" are also part of Klopp's charisma, he is not the most successful coach, but he certainly brings strength and passion to the fans.
Jurgen Klopp left a big hole for Liverpool
On January 28, Liverpool, England, Liverpool Vs Norwich, fans took a photo with Klopp's mural before the game.
What will Jurgen Klopp's departure bring to Liverpool, and in the short term, it may motivate players to strive for the top. For example, Alex Ferguson retired at the end of the 12-13 season, when Manchester United's players won his last league trophy. But in the second season, Moyes was halfway through with the same wave of players. And in the long run, Klopp will inevitably leave a huge hole for the club. When a superstar or star coach leaves, few clubs can make a smooth transition. Both Manchester United and Liverpool fans have a say in this. The former has not won a major championship for more than 10 years, and the latter has not won a league title for 30 years.
The timing of Klopp's departure is not good, but it can also be said that there is room for it. Liverpool are currently in the midst of a generational transition. A number of players from the 19/20 Premier League winning squad have left the club, such as Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Jordan Henderson. Others may have to leave the team, such as Mohamed Salah, who has been rumored for a long time. Jurgen Klopp is also already looking for a new generation of Liverpool replacements, Jota, Luis Dias, Nunez, Gacopo, Szobosroy, McAllister...... Such a stage of the transition between the old and the new most requires an experienced head coach at the helm, but the "captain" himself ran out of gas.
But on the other hand, maybe that's a good thing too. The team left by Klopp has a reasonable age structure, with veterans such as Alisson and Van Dijk on the central axis, as well as Mesozoic generations such as Sorbisroy and McAllister, and Nunez and Gakopo are only 24 years old. What the squad lacks is a star player like Mohamed Salah, with the new head coach having room to implement his ideas and the core players he needs.
But no matter what, Klopp's departure still leaves too much suspense. Premier League fans will surely miss his "farmer's three-punch". Where will he take those three punches? Those ready-made league titles are not Klopp's love, breaking traditions, subverting the pattern, and provoking "rebellion" are Klopp's style, and when he finds a new place, there will be a new storm.