With Jurgen Klopp stepping down as Liverpool manager, GOAL runs through the charismatic German’s most famous quips, comments and rants
Outgoing Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp once said, “The problem with my life is that I’ve said too much sh*t in the past and no-one forgets it.” He’s got a bit of a point, at least in the sense that the eccentric German has always been a journalist’s dream, a constant source of witty quips, amusing compliments and controversial quotes.
However, he’s also proven himself a fountain of football knowledge over the years, as well as a thoroughly decent human being, even if some match officials might disagree!
So, with one of the greatest characters in the game set to leave Liverpool after nine incredible years at Anfield, GOAL runs through Klopp’s most memorable comments, covering everything from “erotic” translators to “brain-f*cks”.
Love at first sight
“I heard from my agent that Liverpool is interested and I felt immediately, ‘Oh God!’ It’s like when I met my wife: I saw her and thought ‘OK, I marry her’, and it was like that with the club. It felt right from the first moment.” – Klopp and Liverpool were always a match made in heaven.
The normal one
“I don’t want to describe myself. Does anyone in this room think I can do wonders? No, I’m a very normal guy. I came from the Black Forest and my mother may be sitting in front of the TV, watching this press conference and has said no word until now. But she is very proud. So I’m a totally normal guy. I’m the normal one, maybe, if you want this…” – Klopp reluctantly gives himself a fittingly humble nickname at his very first press conference as Liverpool manager
From doubters to believers
“It’s only important that we play our own game and the players feel the confidence and the trust of the people. It’s really important that the player feels the difference. They have to think they can reach the expectations of the fans, of the press. You have to change from a doubter to a believer.” – Klopp outlines his grand plan on that famous first day.
The prediction
“We start today in a difficult league against opponents who are bigger and bigger but, in a special Liverpool way, we can be successful. We can wait for it, I don’t want to say we have to wait for 20 years, but when I sit here in four years, I’m pretty sure we will have won a title.” – Klopp makes a prediction at his unveiling. Less than four years later, he led Liverpool to Champions League glory.
