By Andrew Morrison
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the appointment of Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager as he replaced the outgoing Brendan Rodgers.
During his time in charge the 53-year-old has taken charge of 270 matches in which he has guided the Reds to their sixth UEFA Champions League as well as ending the 30 year wait for the club to win the league title.
In his first press conference Klopp said: “the intensity of the football and how the people live for football” is what attracted him to the club as well as labelling himself ‘the normal one’ and insisting his side could win the league within four seasons.
Having never managed outside of his native Germany, Klopp came to Merseyside with a reputation of play high intensity attacking football known as ‘Gegenpressing’ from his time with FSV Mainz 05 and Borussia Dortmund.
Year One:
Although his first game in charge was a 0-0 draw with Tottenham at White Hart Lane, he was quick to implement his trademark style of play with his first win in coming in his fourth game with a 1-0 victory over AFC Bournemouth.
The club then began to pick up momentum with the German at the helm and soon won 3-1 away to Chelsea. Later followed by a win 4-1 at Manchester City which was the club’s first win at the Etihad since 2008.
The club have seemingly gone from stride to stride ever since. However, his first transfer window could be easily forgotten with the three January editions of Kamil Grabara, Marko Gruijic and a loan deal for Steven Caulker.
That same season Liverpool reached the League Cup final where they lost on penalties to Manchester City. Meanwhile they also went on a terrific Europa League run where they knocked out Augsburg, Manchester United and completed a dramatic comeback to knock out Klopp’s former side Borussia Dortmund to reach the final.
Unfortunately, the Reds once again lost, this time perennial Europa League winner Sevilla in Switzerland. That same season they would finish 8th in the Premier League and progress under the new manager was evident.
Year Two:
In his first summer in charge Klopp brought in the likes of Sadio Mane, Joel Matip and Georginio Wijnaldum amongst others. Meanwhile exits included Christian Benteke, Mario Balotelli and Martin Skrtel.
That season the club were without European football. However, in Jurgen Klopp’s first full campaign Liverpool went on to have a successful season with the club reaching the semi-finals of the League Cup and securing fourth in the Premier League meaning they had qualified for the UEFA Champions League.
Year Three:
However, it was the following year which saw the former BVB manager and his side really take that next step. Summer signings of Andy Robertson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mohammed Salah were added to the squad for what was a season to remember.
The aforementioned Salah went on to have a record-breaking season, scoring 32 goals and assisting a further 10 in his 36 Premier League appearances.
Despite finishing fourth once again in league it was the Champions League where then five times winners thrived. A 7-0 group stage victory over Spartak Moscow is still the clubs biggest win under Klopp at Liverpool.
Meanwhile the January addition of Virgil Van Dijk for a then transfer record for a defender at a reported £76.19 million helped the club to go on another European cup run.
In the round of 16 the Red’s easily dispatched of FC Porto with a 5-0 aggregate victory before thrashing rivals Manchester City 5-1 across two legs.
In the semi-finals, Liverpool were drawn against Roma who had completed a stunning comeback against Barcelona in the previous round. Once again it was an attacking spectacle with the Merseyside club coming out on top with a dramatic 7-6 aggregate win.
This meant Klopp had guided his side to a second European final in just two and half years in charge and this time they came up against back to back winners Real Madrid in Ukraine.
Unfortunately, it was the Spaniards who came out on top as Liverpool had lost their third final in a row, this time 3-1. However, the game is perhaps more famous for two Loris Karius errors than the game itself.
As well as throwing the ball straight to Karim Benzema the German goalkeeper also thumbled in a long-range effort from Gareth Bale which only reaffirmed claims that they needed somebody new between the sticks.
The club where quick to address their main problem area by bringing in Alisson Becker for another record fee of £65 million which was later broken by Chelsea who signed Kepa Arrizabalaga just a month later.
Year Four:
Liverpool where quick to get over their final defeat by winning their next seven games in all competitions, a run which included Leicester, Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain.
This was only a sign for things to come with the club scoring 89 league goals only bettered by Manchester City and conceding only 22 which was a league low as they went on to only lose one game and finish second with 97 points.
In the season Liverpool broke the record for acquiring the most points without winning the title, defender Virgil Van Dijk also won PFA Player of the Year, the first of his position since John Terry in 2005.
The highlight of the league season was perhaps a 5-1 win over Arsenal in December, however once again the club achieved more in Europe than in domestic competition.
After knocking out Bayern Munich and FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League, Liverpool were drawn against FC Barcelona in the semi-final.
After losing the first-leg away 3-0 the Reds completed arguably their most impressive European comeback to date with a now famous quickly taken corner from Trent Alexander Arnold being finished by Divock Origi to help secure an outstanding 4-0 win.
This time it was an all English final for Liverpool against the team they faced in Klopp’s first game in charge.
After only one minute of play the five-time winners won a penalty which was converted by Salah and just minutes before the end Divock Origi added a second in Madrid to secure a sixth European Cup for the club.
Year Five:
After their European victory Klopp was heavily expected to once again delve into the transfer market, however, instead he and the club’s hierarchy opted for a window of no major incomings.
As a result of that night in the Wanda Metropolitano the now six-time winners qualified for the UEFA Super Cup against Europa League champions Chelsea.
After a 2-2 draw the game went to penalties and the red’s were crowned victorious after back-up goalkeeper Adrian saved the decisive penalty from Tammy Abraham handing the club their second trophy under Jurgen Klopp.
With multiple successes the club continued their momentum into the Premier League by getting off to the best start in history by winning 14 of their opening 15 games before entering the Club World Cup in December.
Heavy favourites, Liverpool went on to win the competition with a 1-0 extra time victory over Copa Libertadores winner Flamengo. Meanwhile the club had to field a team of youth players in the Carabao cup against Aston Villa just 24 hours before, a game which they lost 5-0.
Nonetheless, the clubs league form continued as they didn’t drop anymore points until match day 28 when the lost away to Watford 3-0, a result which didn’t really have an impact on the top of the table with the leaders still 22 points clear of second place Manchester City.
Unfortunately, it was at this point that the Coronavirus pandemic came into effect which although it originally spread doubt around the continuation of the league season Project Restart was successfully implemented in June.
With Liverpool so far clear at the top of the table they were just a handful of games from securing their first title in 30 years.
Then on the 25th June 2020 Chelsea defeated second place Manchester City 2-1 making it mathematically impossible for anyone to catch table topers Liverpool therefore securing them their first ever Premier League.
The title victory meant that Klopp’s aim of winning the league within four seasons was virtually achieved as they had won it in his fourth full campaign in charge.
Now, with acquisitions such as Thiago Alcantara and Diogo Jota the Red’s will be hoping to further build on their success in the current season and look to retain their Premier League title.
Klopp’s Record at Liverpool:
Games: 270
Wins: 165
Draws: 57
Defeats: 48
Trophies: UEFA Champions League x1, UEFA Super Cup x1, FIFA Club World Cup x1, English Premier League x1
