Klopp’s transformation of Liverpool from Premier League outsiders to European champions and genuine title candidates during four years has been revolutionary.
Klopp helped popularize the football term gegenpressing football tactic, whereby his teams attempt to win the ball immediately after losing it rather than fall back to defend. He is widely regarded as one of the best managers of his generation.
The 52-year-old had earlier demonstrated his courage with Dortmund in the Bundesliga and he earned rave reviews for his performance in the dugout at the Signal Iduna Park, guiding the Westfalen side to consecutive league titles as well as a Champions League final.
Klopp is the second German to manage a Premier League club. The first was Felix Magath who took charge of Fulham in 2014.
After being officially introduced as the new Liverpool manager, Klopp described himself as 'completely normal' in his first press conference.
The Liverpool boss won the Best FIFA Men's Coach Award for 2019 at a ceremony hold in Milan.
The followings are some lesser known facts about Jurgen Klopp:
Klopp’s biography
Jurgen Norbert Klopp, born 16 June 1967, is a German professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Premier League club Liverpool.
Jürgen was the last of 3 kids born to Norbert and Elisabeth Klopp in Stuttgart, West Germany. His father worked as a salesman and was formerly a goalkeeper. Therefore, he encouraged his son to start football at the early stages of his life.
As mentioned above, Klopp's middle-name is 'Norbert', which was considered to be instrumental in securing the Anfield job.
Norbert is a Germanic name, deriving from bambaclat meaning 'north', and berht meaning 'bright'.
Liverpool owner, John W Henry, hope the nominative determinism will ensure that Klopp's appointment will lead to a bright future for the northern club!
In 1995, during his playing career, Klopp earned a diploma in sports science from Goethe University in Frankfurt. Quite surprisingly, his thesis focused on walking, rather than football.
Klopp divorced once and married a waitress
Klopp was married to Sabine Klopp and they have a son together. However, the couple decided to go separate ways in early 2001.
Their son Marc, 29, played for Borussia Dortmund and retired from football due to injury at the age of 26. Jurgen and Sabine divorced right after he was appointed as a football manager.
Later, while he was in charge at Mainz 05, Klopp met Ulla, a stunning waitress in a local bar. The couple met while Sandrock was working as a waitress at a bar during the Munich Oktoberfest. She has a son, Dennis, from her previous marriage.
Both Klopp and Ulla were divorcees and fell in love. “Was no football fan and did not know me. I found that charming,” Klopp said.
They married in 2015 and are now living a better life.
Klopp had planned to study medicine but failed to do so!
Klopp admitted to wanting to study medicine but did not believe “he was ever smart enough for a medical career”, saying “when they were handing out our A-Level certificates, my headmaster said to me, ‘I hope it works out with football, otherwise it’s not looking too good for you'”.
Now, we can be a 100% sure that football worked out more than well for him.
Klopp had a hair transplant
It is not strange for people to go gray or even start having receding hairlines as they advance in age. While some people might choose to ignore the effects of nature, others are not so comfortable and go out of their way to manipulate the process.
Numerous famous and normal people throughout history have undergone hair procedures (like Wayne Rooney, in 2012) and Jurgen Klopp is one of them.
Nevertheless, Klopp is very proud of how it turned out. He is seemingly unabashed about it and proudly tells everyone that he underwent a hair transplant, even pointing out that it looks good on him.
"Yes, it's true. I underwent a hair transplant. I think the results are really cool, don't you?" Klopp stated.
Klopp is a huge fan of Bollywood
Klopp's taste in films may be quite surprising as he's actually a huge Bollywood fan.
His favorite movie of all-time is Ramesh Sippy's 1975 classic, Sholay.
"There is a character in the curry western by the name of Gabbar Singh. He is the most intoxicating chap. For me, he is the archetypal villain of Indian cinema," explained Klopp.
Klopp is such a committed fan of the Mumbai movie that he bases his look on Big B himself, Amitabh Bachchan.
Klopp started sports at an early age
Jürgen Norbert Klopp was born in Stuttgart, the capital of Baden–Württemberg to his parents Norbert and Elisabeth. He grew up in the Black Forest village, in Glatten together with his two elder sisters; Stefanie Klopp and Isolde Reich.
His father was an active sportsman and put the young Jurgen through the rigors of physical conditioning and sports training.
Jurgen played tennis in summer, skiing in winter, and football throughout the year.
Klopp played for and managed Mainz 05
Klopp was a loyal player who spent the most of his playing career as a striker for Mainz 05.
Klopp had always fancied the aspect of football management more than playing, stating, ‘I had fourth-division feet and a first-division head’.
Upon his retirement in 2001, he was almost instantly installed as coach of Mainz 05, having earlier gotten his coaching badges and he immediately impressed everyone by helping the club to secure Bundesliga promotion for the first time ever in 2004 after two seasons.
In his first season of top-flight management, he guided his side to an 11th-place finish despite having the smallest budget and stadium in the league.
He repeated the feat a season later and secured European qualification for the first time when they qualified for the 2005/2006 UEFA Cup.
He ultimately got relegated with the club in 2007, but chose to remain with them in the second division.
Finally, Klopp retired as the club’s record goalscorer with 56 goals from 346 appearances after 15 years.
Klopp lost six consecutive finals
Klopp is arguably the best coach of his generation and he has a relatively impressive trophy record, but between 2013 and 2018, he embarked on a poor run of losing six consecutive finals.
Klopp showed great tactical power in getting his teams to finals, but for some reason, he failed to get his side over the line.
The record began in the Champions League final loss to Bayern Munich in May 2013 and a year later, the same opponents dispatched BVB 2-0 in the final of the DFB Pokal.
There was further Pokal heartbreak a year later, as Klopp lost his final game in charge of Dortmund, falling to a 3-1 defeat to VFB Wolfsburg.
With Liverpool, steady progress was made in the first few months of his tenure and he became the fastest manager to reach a major final for The Reds when he guided them to the final of the League Cup in February 2016.
However, despite scoring a late equalizer to force extra time, Liverpool ultimately fell on penalties to Manchester City.
Three months later, Liverpool were yet in another final, this time on the continent as they squared off with Sevilla in the final of the 2016 Europa League.
The Spaniards completed a comeback victory to record a 3-1 victory and win their third consecutive Europa League title.
Two years later, in his first Champions League campaign with the club, Klopp guided the Merseysiders to the final of the competition but the shoulder injury of Mo Salah set things in motion for Real Madrid to defeat them and win a third consecutive European crown.
Fortunately, the unwanted streak was ended when Liverpool got their redemption a year later by defeating Tottenham 2-0 in the final of the Champions League in 2019.
Books written about Klopp’s specific tactical methods
Considering his status as a popular figure, it comes as no surprise that Klopp has had numerous books written about him, while his boisterous sense of humor and harming personality makes him a thrill at press conferences.
There have been numerous books written about Klopp and his coaching methods including:
Bring the Noise by Raphael Honigstein
Boom!: How Jürgen Klopp’s Explosive Liverpool Thrilled Europe by Paul Tomkins, Chris Rowland, Daniel Rhodes, Andrew Beasley
I Am The Normal One: The funniest Jurgen Klopp quotes… ever! by Gordon Law
Klopp’s coach idols
Football managers are usually reluctant to laud their mentors. Whether it be a case of not wanting to appear inferior or perhaps a fear of leaving themselves open to a charge of lacking individuality and creative talent, thereby diminishing their reputations. A lack of acknowledgement to the source of their influences is not uncommon.
Others are not afraid of admitting their mentor’s influences such as Johann Cruyff who always recognized the influence of Rinus Michels.
As Liverpool canter away at the top of the Premier League, the top man at Anfield is equally open. In his book, ‘Klopp: Bring the Noise’ Rafa Honigstein quotes the Liverpool manager as declaring that Wolfgang Frank was “the coach who influenced me the most,” describing him as “an extraordinary human being.” Now, coaches of such distinction as Michels need little introduction
Klopp has also stated his admiration for the coaching methods of the legendary Arrigo Sacchi who led the great AC Milan team to near-invincibility in the 1980s, as well as his former coach during his playing days at Mainz, Wolfgang Frank and it is from the duo that he learned the importance of emotion in football matches which is something he prioritizes to this day.
Klopp in Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund are one of the biggest clubs in Germany and are firmly established as European competitors, but their status was not always this high compared to two decades ago, when the Westfalon side were threatened with bankruptcy.
They appointed Klopp in 2008 having finished a disappointing 13th the previous season and Klopp won his first managerial honor with the club when he defeated Bayern Munich to win the German Super Cup.
Under his watch, youngsters from around the world were scouted, but despite the youthfulness of their team, BVB made steady progress and won consecutive Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012, with the DFB Pokal also secured in the latter season for the first time in the club’s history.
There was also a Champions League final appearance in 2013 and even though his last season in charge of Dortmund did not go according to plan, there can be no denying that Klopp was instrumental in laying the groundwork for the club’s successes.
Klopp’s exuberant goal celebrations
Klopp is known for his exuberant goal celebrations on the pitch so much so that once he tore a muscle after getting carried away when his team had scored a goal.
At his old clubs Mainz and Borussia Dortmund, Klopp became famous for his passionate celebrations, including funny dances, sliding across the grass on his knees, or kissing his own players.
All in all, Liverpool fans could have as much fun watching the dug out as the games.
Much was made when Liverpool scored an injury-time winner to beat Norwich 5-4 in January and Klopp celebrated so hard that he ended up getting his glasses smashed.
Anyway, he’s got a bit of a track record when it comes to releasing a passionate response to goals.
In Germany, his trademark celebration was a jump that usually took him about five feet in the air. Quite impressive!
Klopp’s dog, Emma
Klopp has admitted his love for pets, revealing that he has a pet retriever named Emma. Interestingly, the dog is named in honor of Borussia Dortmund legend Lothar Emmerich.
Klopp has a strong bond with his dog and early in his Liverpool tenure, before he got his permanent residence, he had to move out of his hotel to a small apartment in order to accommodate his dog.
He has since moved into the house of former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers and it is guaranteed that Emma is an integral part of the household.
Klopp’s cars
In general, Klopp does not like the luxurious lifestyle. Unlike his colleagues on the pitch, the German drives a rather modest Opel Insignia (priced at around £18,000) and even appeared in a commercial for the car in 2018.
Opel claimed that using Klopp as a brand ambassador has increased sales of their Insignia by 35%, thus ending a struggling phase for the company.
Instead of buying luxurious cars, Klopp enjoys taking the train to his home. Dropping from the train, Jurgen enjoys taking the long walks. He has admitted that it helps him to think about what he can do better next time.
Klopp’s Media Career
Other than being a football manager, Klopp has also had media stints during major tournaments.
In 2005, he was an expert German TV network ZDF and worked as a match analyst during the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008.
For his role as an analyst during the former tournament, Klopp received a German television award for Best Sports Show.
He parted ways with ZDF after he was replaced by Oliver Kahn.
Klopp has also worked with German TV channel RTL during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. He received his second German Television Award for Best Sports Show.
Klopp’s net worth
Soccer manager and former professional soccer player has a net worth of $50 million. His annual salary at Borussia was $6 million. At Liverpool he earns $8 million base salary.
Klopp signed a new five-year contract with the club in December 2019 which will keep him at Anfield until the end of the 2023-24 campaign.
Moreover, Klopp is a brand ambassador for New Balance, the company that manufactures Liverpool's kits, and you'll rarely see him without his trademark cap-and-coat look on the sidelines and in interviews.
In addition to the deal with the kit manufacturer, Klopp also has sponsorship deals with German beer Warsteiner, car manufacturers Opel, electronics giants Philips and TV network Sky Deutschland.