Nobody is better than Klopp. Period.
Jurgen Klopp is arguably one of the best football managers in the world. But he has never had a chance to coach great football teams.
Courtesy: Sky Sports
Klopp, who’s now in charge of Liverpool, started his illustrious coaching career in 2001 at Mainz. He left for Borussia Dortmund after leading Mainz to its first Bundesliga appearance.
He then guided Dortmund to two consecutive league titles in 2012 and 2013, three other domestic cups, and the UEFA Champions League final in 2013. He has been with Liverpool since 2015.
Klopp’s first season with the Reds was remarkable. He led Liverpool to the finals of the League Cup and UEFA Europa League. But he is still without a trophy in three seasons. Despite that, I believe it’s a mistake to question his managerial capabilities.
Earlier this year he took a giant step forward by guiding his charges to the semi-finals of the Champions League. Klopp’s men already have one foot set in the finals when they beat high-flying Manchester City in the quarterfinals. Liverpool now faces Roma in the first leg of today’s semi-final. The return leg is scheduled for May 2.
The team hasn’t gone this far since 2005 when Liverpool won the tournament. This time a top-four finish is guaranteed, which also means Klopp’s charges will participate in next year’s competition.
This year’s performance simply underscores how good Klopp is as a manager.
Klopp boasts a better head-to-head ratio over some of the most successful football managers in the world, like Pep Guardiola.
“There’s no big difference,” Klopp observed recently. “It’s just that Pep has always had better teams than me.”
So would Klopp be the best football manager in the world if he had better squads under his tutelage? Well, I think he’s the best regardless.
