The winter sun beat down on Kirkby as Liverpool’s players and staff arrived at their training base like everyone else on Friday. Little did they know that they would witness one of the most memorable days in the club’s 132-year history. Anyone associated with Liverpool will always remember where they were when Jurgen Klopp’s departure was announced.
Unlike most football news released by gossip weeks ago, this was a bombshell that shocked the sport. The best kept secret in the world of sports and the news that brought surprises through the game was news that could become a hot topic even if you were not a football fan. Even the Liverpool players only got the news when they were called to a team meeting at around 10.15am on Friday.
Club staff were notified by email that morning and an announcement was made via Liverpool’s social media channels at 10.36am. A week later, X’s original post had 55 million views. Klopp embarked on a long two-day farewell tour. United will still have 28 games to play this season if they reach all the finals and his departure has yet to resonate with many fans. But for those living in Liverpool’s inner sanctum, succession planning is in full swing.
It’s all in the hands of Mike Gordon, president of Fenway Sports Group, who oversees Boston’s recruiting process. Gordon, who has never spoken to the British media, was informed of Klopp’s resignation last November. It was not uncommon for Klopp to call his close ally Gordon, but on this occasion he asked the Milwaukee-born investor to call him for just a few minutes, dealing the final blow that could force him to leave the club, and nothing won’t do it. change. It wasn’t. . his opinion. Think differently.
Klopp, who had planned a long break after leaving Borussia Dortmund, tired for various reasons and his project at Liverpool came to an end. Last season’s struggles were a factor in the manager’s mind. The global pandemic has affected Klopp as much as it has affected many people.
Covid guidelines meant he was unable to attend his mother Elizabeth’s funeral in 2021 and the resulting condensed season meant he was unable to enjoy the time he would normally like to take away from football. He also recently became a grandfather and is looking forward to spending time with his family.
During a planning meeting for next season, when Liverpool could travel to the United States, Klopp took a mental check and asked himself if he had the strength to leave again. Pep Linders, the club’s outgoing assistant manager alongside Peter Kravitz and Vito Matos, sees this season as “The Last Dance” in a nod to the Chicago Bulls documentary and said he would hit the players in the head if they made jokes. They showed negative signs. Klopp, 56, laughed quietly and joked that he would have had to resign to receive the huge compensation.
Although he didn’t want to tell his fans ahead of time, he wanted the news out and was willing to risk it leaking out. In the next few weeks. Everyone in Klopp’s circle who knew about the move kept it a secret, but Liverpool had to contact agents to change their manager and coaching staff.
Earlier this week, there were rumors in football circles of clubs locked in a backroom row with their coaches. The usual press conference ahead of last week’s game against Norwich was brought forward by a day and did not take place on Friday for the first time this season, and women’s coach Matt Bird’s briefing was also moved to Saturday to wrap up the game.
On the day Klopp announced his transfer. So what happens then? Gordon will lead the recruiting process in Boston, as he did in 2015. At the time, Klopp and his agent Marc Kosicke were called to Manhattan for a secret interview, and when Klopp left, his client was questioned behind the media camera.
Klopp’s personality and the way he owns the room eventually brought out Carlo Ancelotti. While the current Real Madrid manager has said he can make Liverpool great again with a few key signings, Klopp has expressed his desire to work with the current culture. The theme of Germany’s time at Anfield has been finding solutions rather than asking FSG to open their chequebook, which will now appear at the top of the job description.
Xabi Alonso appears to be in the lead, but the process will be thorough and data-driven. Liverpool have drawn up a list of suitors they are tracking, including Sporting’s Roberto De Zerbi and Ruben Amorim. The process was led in part by the particle physicist Will Spearman, a Harvard graduate and now the scientific director of the Red family.
Spearman was instrumental in identifying Wataru Endo for a summer signing. The Japan captain stands out in a number of statistics and believes Liverpool made the “best decision” after missing out on Stuttgart midfielder Moises Caicedo for Brighton. When Klopp was hired, Liverpool pointed to the fact that his Dortmund side often underperformed in terms of the expected goals stats, suggesting that they actually need to do better.
Ironically, Klopp was the last manager other than Bayern Munich to win the Bundesliga. Of course, the next player to end Bayern’s competitive monopoly could be former midfielder Xabi Alonso. Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen side are top of the table ahead of next weekend’s crucial clash. Could he soon follow in Klopp’s footsteps? To that end, Liverpool could hire a new sporting director following Jörg Schmadtke’s departure from the club this week. Former head of transfers Michael Edwards has ruled out a return to another role, but the search continues.
