I’m So Glad, That Jürgen is a Red!
Sooooooo, the Big Game was played last night. Did you watch it? Yea, me too, and I hope your prop bets came through. Swimming the loot baby!
Anywell, this blog is not about that. Several weeks ago, Jürgen Klopp, the manager of my favorite football club, Liverpool FC, announced that he will be leaving the club at the end of the season. Without question, Klopp is the greatest manager at Liverpool in my lifetime and one of the greatest managers, not only in club history, but in Premier League history. Since taking over for Brendon Rodgers in 2015, Klopp’s teams have won the lot, literally! The first trophy was the 2019 UEFA Champions League win over Tottenham Hotspur in Madrid. (More on the run to this final later in the blog). Liverpool went on to win the UEFA Super Cup against Chelsea on penalties, the FIFA Club World Cup over Flamengo 1-0, the first English league title in 30 years, the League Cup, and the FA Cup both over Chelsea in 2022.
To celebrate Klopp’s reign at Liverpool, I wanted to rank my top 5 favorite moments for Liverpool under Klopp. First, a couple honorable mentions:
January 23, 2016 – LALLANAAAAAAAAAAAA!
To say this game was wild would be an understatement. Liverpool took the lead through Bobby Firmino in the 18th minute. Norwich broke through in the 29th minute with a Dieumerci Mbokani goal and then took the lead from a former Everton player, Steven Naismith, 4 minutes before halftime. Norwich took a 3-1 lead via a penalty converted by Wes Hoolahan. Just a minute later, the captain, Jordan Henderson pulled one back for Liverpool. Firmino added his second goal in the 63rd minute before James Milner intercepted a pass in Norwich’s to give Liverpool a 4-3 lead. However, injury time would prove to be wild! Norwich equalized with a goal from Sebastien Basson in the 90 +2 minute. The game looked to be ending in a 4-4 draw, but three minutes later, Adam Lallana volleyed a failed clearance the ball straight into the ground and into the back of the net to give Liverpool the 5-4 win. The game was famous for the celebration by the Liverpool players with Klopp, who ended up having his glasses broken by Christian Benteke in the chaos.
April 4, 2018 – Champions League match versus the Centenarians
The 2017-2018 Premium League was dominated by Manchester City who reached 100 points, the most by any team in Premier League history. Liverpool and City were drawn together in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Liverpool handed City their first loss in the Premier League, which one of only 2 losses for City in the Premier League. Liverpool came out firing on all cylinders, taking a 1-0 lead through a Mo Salah goal. Just 8 minutes later, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain rockets a ball past Ederson to make it 2-0. 11 minutes later, Sadio Mane put the game on ice making it 3-0, which would be the final score. Liverpool prevailed 2-1 in the 2nd leg in Manchester and Liverpool ended up progressing to the Champions League Final vs Real Madrid, losing 3-1 in a game famously known for Mo Salah’s injury when Sergio Ramos pulled an MMA move on him trying to win the ball.
And now for my top 5 favorite moments under Klopp!
#5 – April 14, 2016 - Liverpool v Borussia Dortmund – Europa League Quarter Final 2nd Leg
Liverpool was drawn against Klopp’s former club, Borussia Dortmund in the quarterfinals of the Europa League. Back in the days of the away goal rule, Liverpool found themselves in a bit of a hole early. The teams drew 1-1 in Dortmund and in the first 10 minutes of the second leg, Dortmund were up 2-0 with goals from Mkhitaryan and Aubameyang. Down 2-0 at halftime, and 3-1 on aggregate, Liverpool needed a spark. Divock Origi, a Liverpool cult hero, pulled a goal back in the 48th minute. But 9 minutes later, Marco Reus made it 3-1 on the night and 4-2 on aggregate. The little Brazilian magician, Coutinho, pulled a goal back to make it 3-2 on the night. Liverpool drew level with a goal with a Sakho header. Going into injury time, it was 4-4 on aggregate, which meant that Dortmund would go through on the away goals rule. In the 90th minute, James Milner, the captain for this match, wins the ball on the right side, in the Kop end, and sends a ball sailing into the penalty area where it was met by the head of Dejan Lovren. The comeback was complete! The game propelled the Reds all the way to the Europa League Final where they lost to Sevilla.
#4 – The Demolition of Man United – 2021 and 2023
In October 2021, Liverpool travelled to Old Trafford to face a United team that was in disarray. It was a Liverpool masterclass. Naby Keita, Naby lad, started things off in the 5th minute. Diogo Joto struck in the 13th minute to give Liverpool an early 2-0 lead. Mo Salah added 2 goals before the break to make it four, nil at half time. The second half started like the first half ended. Jordan Henderson played the best ball he ever has in a Reds top, to the feet of Mo Salah, who put it past de Gea to make it 5-0. The songs from the Liverpool supporters – “Ole’s at the wheel, AT THE WHEEL! Ole’s at the wheel – lalalalalala.”
March 2023 saw United travel to Anfield, and it took a while for a goal to come. It came in the 43rd minute from Cody Gakpo. The second half, it all went off! It was Nunez, then Gakpo with his second, then Salah, then Nunez again, then Salah again and the 7th game by Bobby Firmino, which was one of his last games at Anfield for the club, before his departure to the Saudi League. 7-0 demolition of United. A great moment!
#3 – January 19, 2019 v Man United – “We’re gonna win the League.”
Liverpool was rolling and were on their way to winning their first league title in 30 years. This was the match where the supporters knew the league was won. Liverpool opened the scoring in the 14th minute from a Virgil van Dijk smashing header, served up by Trent Alexander-Arnold. A second goal by Bobby Firmino was scored not long after but ruled out by VAR. It was a slug fest for most of the match and United came close to equalizing on a couple of occasions. The second goal came in injury time on a breakaway by Mo Salah. Allison collected the ball and found Salah behind the entire United defense. He fended off a United defender to slot the ball past de Gea to give Liverpool a 2-0 lead. Salah threw off his shirt and Allison came sliding in to celebrate his assist. The win put Liverpool 16 points ahead of Man City with a game in hand. “We’re gonna win the league!” And Liverpool won the league during an unprecedented time. The COVID 19 virus shut everything down which delayed Liverpool’s title celebrations on the field. Unfortunately, the team couldn’t celebrate in front of supporters, but raised the trophy in the Kop end of Anfield.
#2 - June 1, 2019 - Liverpool win Number 6! - Champions League Final v Tottenham Hotspur
Liverpool made it to the final of the Champions League in 2019, by beating Barcelona in the semi-finals. More on that in shortly! They squared off against Tottenham Hotspur, who made it to their first ever European final and got there in similarly dramatic fashion against Dutch side Ajax. It was the second time there was an all English final - the first came in 2008 (Man United v Chelsea). Things started amazing for Liverpool, who were awarded a penalty kick in the first minute of the match. Moussa Sissoko was judged to have handed the ball in the box and the refereed awarded a penalty. Mo Salah on his Champions League Final revenge tour, smoked it past Hugo Lloris to give Liverpool the very early 1-0 lead. Spurs had most of the possession in the first half but Liverpool had several chances, mostly on corners. The Reds led 1-0 at halftime. Spurs pressed in the second half for an equalizer which led them vulnerable to counter attacks from Liverpool. It was not until the 87 minute when there was another breakthrough. Spurs failed to clear a corner and the ball ended up at Divock Origi’s feet. He buried it past Lloris to make it 2-0, sending the traveling Kopites into a tizzy. The celebrations could begin. I was watching this one at Wolff’s Biergarten in Syracuse, NY and I can tell you that the 90% of Reds fans in that bar went berserk. It was glorious to watch. Jordan Henderson lifted the Champions League trophy, Liverpool’s 6th!
#1 - May 7, 2019 - “Corner taken quickly!”
This game was not only my favorite moment for Liverpool under Klopp, but it may actually be the most famous game in Liverpool history. And I can say that I was able to witness it with my own eyes. So many story lines for this one. Former Liverpool players Luis Suarez and Philip Coutinho made their return to Anfield for the first time since leaving Liverpool for Barcelona. Liverpool were down 3-0 after the first leg. Messi and Suarez put on a master class. Liverpool missed several chances during the first leg, but were outmatched. The second leg was no doubt going to be challenging. No Salah. No Firmino. It was Origi and Shaqiri taking their places. Things started brightly at Anfield for the hosts. Henderson made his way through the Barcelona defense but had his shot saved by Ter Stegen in the Barca goal. But cult hero Divock Origi was there to put away the rebound to give Liverpool a 1-0 lead in the 7th minute. Anfield was a buzz. There were several chances for each side in the first half, but the storyline of the missing players for Liverpool got even worse when Andy Robertson was forced off at halftime with an injury. Little did we know, that Gini Wijnaldum would have the impact he did in the second half. In a two minute span, Wijnaldum turned the game on its head! Trent Alexander-Arnold moved down the right wing and played a ball towards the penalty area, which was met by an onrushing Wijnaldum who slotted the ball past Ter Stegen to make it 2-0 on the night in the 54th minute. 2 minutes later, Shaqiri crossed the ball from the left side and it was Wijnaldum that headed the ball in the top corner of the goal. 3-0 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate. An amazing turnaround! Barcelona were absolutely stunned. And then, it was one of the bets play’s I’ve seen in a football match. Liverpool won a corner in the 79th minute. It was Trent that went over to take it. He placed the ball down, made like he was walking away and then played the ball quickly to Divock Origi who put the ball into the back of the net - “Corner taken quickly!” The goal blew the roof off Anfield and almost blew the doors off Wolff’s Biergarten. 4-0 to Liverpool on the night. A miraculous come back which sent Liverpool to the Champions League Final in Madrid 2019. The team, the staff and everyone associated with the club held each other in front of the Kop to sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” the teams anthem. It was an unforgettable night and blog doesn’t do it justice.
And that’s it. That’s my top 5 moments under Klopp for Liverpool. When he took over the squad, Liverpool were in a shambles. There was no hope for the club. Since that time, 9 seasons ago, Klopp has won every trophy available to win with Liverpool. His teams made us dream and continue to. Liverpool still sit at the top of the Premier League after this weekend’s matches. Are in the final of the Carabao Cup which takes place later this month. Are in the next round of the FA Cup. And are in the knockout phase of the Europa League. The thing I think I will miss most is his charisma, his hugs of the players, his fist pumps to the supporters after matches and the person that has been embraced by a city and all Liverpool supporters around the world. I leave you with his song that is sung by Liverpool supporters everywhere (Sung to the tune of the Beatles song, “I Feel Fine.”:
I'm so glad that Jurgen is a Red.
I'm so glad he delivered what he said.
Jurgen said to me, you know. We'll win the Premier League, you know. He said so.
I'm in love with him and I feel fine.
Jürgen Klopp - my manager - You’ll Never Walk Alone