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We’ve yet to see if Jürgen Klopp has managed a football team for the last time. His emotional exit from the Reds was a somewhat unexpected occurrence at the time, thwarting hopes that he would continue what had been a true renaissance of Merseyside football.

Given the fact that there’s a new boss at Anfield who uses a different, more moderate style of football, it’s worth looking at who Klopp was while managing Liverpool from a tactical standpoint. What’s most important is that he managed to give the team an identity that has allowed them to consistently compete on all fronts across his career at Anfield.

After all, it’s this extremely crowded schedule that has pushed him towards burnout. Despite his current status as Head of Global Football, we may be seeing him appear as the skipper of the German Mannschaft at some point.

Until then, it’s our pleasure to look at how Jürgen Klopp breathed new life into an underachieving squad that deserved to reach its recent heights. We can’t be anything but grateful for it.

Influences and their effect on what became Klopp’s style

Yes, we will talk about gegenpressing very soon. Until then, we need to remember that Ralf Rangnick, the unfortunate caretaker of a disheveling United squad, was trying to find its identity. Rangnick’s football philosophy, which Klopp adopted, is worth discussing a bit more profoundly, hence our desire to talk about it separately.

In his own words, Jurgen Klopp’s philosophy and approach were primarily influenced by Wolfgang Frank, who coached him during two different stints at Mainz. He learnt his tactical skills from a mentor, Arrigo Sacchi, whose style also had an idol.

The Italian manager demonstrated that many greats, like Klopp, have imitated his adaptable talent, discipline, and physicality. His methods altered football tactics and adopted numerous creative ideas.

Gegenpressing

We need to talk about gegenpressing because it’s the foremost tactical thesis that you will find in a Klopp-coached team. It first gained notoriety during his Dortmund days, shedding light on a rag-tag team of players who were distinguishing themselves as rising stars, but aided by hard-working veterans.

But after Klopp arrived at Anfield, it was evident that his gegenpressing had reached its peak. His goal of making the Reds a violent, physical team operated on the straightforward tenet of charging the ball holder as soon as the side lost possession.

The application requires a number of religiously followed rules. Above all, each player must remain disciplined without completely abandoning the task. Second, it requires physical effort and fast thinking, both of which are largely instinctive. Thirdly, the idea of closing spaces must be followed in any successful pass or dribble that comes from that possession.

Liverpool was a very difficult team to beat in that sense because of their excessive aggression, but it also puts a lot of strain on the players, particularly if there is a player who is prone to injury.

As such, gegenpressing is a marvel of modern football because it distances itself from the everpresent possession game while emphasising the physicality and discipline of modern football.

The first years and the 4-3-3

Some of the people who aren’t necessarily in the Liverpool fan base seem to forget that Jurgen Klopp came to Liverpool in a transitional phase and was at the helm for longer than it may have seemed from the outside. His arrival was in 2015 when, with all due respect, the squad was in pretty bad shape and devoid of the high-end talent that constituted a competitive team.

However, his attempt at mitigating the glaring weaknesses came with a progressive approach to transfers. Most importantly, his philosophy, which was all about discipline and effort, was the most important new addition. The creation of a new system came to be the signature move of his tactical prowess, ensuring that his offence came with a high-powered structure.

He inherited Phillip Coutinho, with Firmino joining in 2015, and the Fab Four brought the physicality, quickness, creativity, and efficiency required to succeed. One of the most significant changes was the arrival of Salah in 2017, considering Liverpool’s ascent from eighth place in 2016 to consecutive fourth place in 2017 and 2018.

Even after Coutinho’s departure, which paid for Alisson and left some change, the front three in this structure has been one of the true masterclasses of his career. The Mo Salah addition, coupled with overall form, led to a rise from 92 goals to 135 goals in Liverpool’s 2017-2018 season.

New blood gives rise to the fullback integration

Fullbacks are some of the most important creators in modern football and are proof that you need speed, technique, and dual prowess from them if you are to succeed in this type of game. As such, it’s even more endearing to see how the rise of Andy Robertson on the left and Trent Alexander-Arnold on the right has been integral to this effort.

They were both on the younger spectrum when they arrived at the club, with Trent being only 18 when he broke into the senior squad and 19 when he ascended to regular starting. Robertson, who came from Hull City, was around 23, coinciding with the beginning of his physical prime.

Their role as stalwarts in Klopp’s side clearly needed some strength in the middle of the defence, with Van Dijk and Lovren being the initial centre-back duo. After the Karius fiasco, the arrival of Alisson basically turned the defence into a closely efficient effort that has proven valuable and successful. With a strong presence guaranteed by Gino Wijnaldum and the consistency of the mackem Henderson, the team peaked during the 2018/19 season as and appeared to do so in 2019/20 before the pandemic dislodged their effort. Their victory as Premier League champions was more satisfying, as most of the oddsmaking casinos listed by slotscalendar.org.uk showed that they had the 2nd best odds of winning the title during that season.

A facet of modern football

Discussing tactical references is definitely important, but his strategic brilliance is, in the author’s opinion, falling in second place to his emphasis on emotion. In such a strategised game that is overflowing with tactical rigidity, analytics, and other scientific approaches, Klopp was adamant about something else.

His philosophical approach to enjoying football and playing it with an open heart is more than that: it’s a way of living this sport. Jürgen Klopp has been an animated light in a sea of revolving managerial doors, and his time at Anfield is a pleasant history.

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