Jurgen Klopp Re-Energizing Liverpool

Liverpool looked like the nearly men of the English Premier League since it was formed a short time after their own period of domestic dominance ended with their final league title in 1990. Since the departure of club legend Kenny Dalglish from his first spell in charge a number of respected coaches and managers have passed through the famous Shankly Gates in a bid to bring the glory days back to Merseyside. The arrival of Rafa Benitez and Brendan Rodgers may have been met with popularity at the time, but Liverpool has rarely seen the flow of football bets arrive on their side as has happened since the arrival of Jurgen Klopp as head coach.

Klopp obviously brings an impressive history to the club from his time in Germany’s Bundesliga as coach of Borussia Dortmund, including two Bundesliga titles and an appearance in the 2013 Champions League final. Many will point to much of the groundwork for the success of Klopp in his first few games as Liverpool coach being done by predecessor Brendan Rodgers. However, under Rodgers the Liverpool squad he had assembled with a large budget from the American owners of the club seemed to lack confidence and energy at the start of this season. Klopp has changed the shape and formation of the team to allow them to play in the attacking way Rodgers used to almost win the Premier League title in 2014.

It is easy to look at work completed by Klopp and see it as an extension of Rodgers work, but the new coach has shown faith in players the former holder of the Liverpool hot seat had seen struggle during his tenure. Emre Can has been one of those who has seen his career reborn under Klopp, a manager he faced during his own time playing Germany. Can has appeared in his favored midfield role under Klopp, but was used as a defender or full back under Rodgers and seemed to lose confidence in his own ability.

Klopp seems to have brought a sense of increased confidence for players who struggled at the start of the season under the previous manager. In general, many soccer experts believe the Liverpool squad has never fully recovered from losing the 2014 Championship following the infamous Steven Gerrard slip. The positive and relaxed nature of the press conferences held by the new coach has been accompanied by him being pictured around Liverpool enjoying the nightlife of the city has reflected on his team who seem to be playing without fear of failure.

Jurgen Klopp has won the first two games he has played against the traditional top four teams of the Premier League, including the 4-1 destruction of Manchester City. Tough choices have been made by the coach, including the decision to favor Roberto Firmino over Christian Benteke as the main striker who Ridgers placed the majority of his faith in.