Jurgen Klopp leaves Liverpool -By Abhi D 

Jurgen Klopp leaves Liverpool after nearly a decade of managing The Reds.

When did he leave?

After winning eight major titles including one Premier League, one Champions League title, one FA Cup, two League Cups, 1 FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup he announced he was leaving at a team meeting at 10:36 am on January 26th, 2024, and he left on the 19th of May 2024 after a 2-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers to finish third in his final season in the Premier League.

Why did he leave?

After nine years working one of the most demanding jobs in sport, the 56-year-old manager no longer feels he can operate with the necessary energy required as he is running out of energy. 56 years old is not old for a football club manager. Klopp acknowledged this when he announced his shocking retirement from the Premier League. Jurgen Klopp blamed fatigue for his bombshell decision to stand down as Liverpool manager after nearly a decade and insisted that nothing could make him U-turn like Sir Alex Ferguson did at Manchester United as he had no more energy to go beyond this season.

What will Klopp do now?

Klopp declared “I am one of you now” in his final speech to the supporters on the Anfield turf, insisting he will “stay a believer.” In his final press conference, he said “I will come back occasionally just, how I said, as a supporter now, and I am fine with that, honestly. “Maybe not for the first game of the season” “Maybe after the second international break or something like this.” Klopp has confirmed that he will not return to England for managing and even stepping into that role seems unlikely.

  What is Liverpool going to do moving forward?

Initially, Liverpool wanted Xabi Alonso to take over as Head Coach, but he decided to stay at Leverkusen. After a few weeks of searching for a new manager, they found Arne Slot as their main candidate for Head Coach, and he is expected to take charge from the start of June. During Klopp’s final speech in Anfield, he chanted a song made by the Liverpool fans for Arne Slot to encourage the Liverpool fans to welcome his successor the way they did when he first joined. The chant went “ARNE SLOT la la la la la la.” 

Why Arne Slot?

Feyenoord have won 2 league titles in the last 25 years, and Slot was responsible for one of them. Liverpool’s decision makers were impressed by Slot’s ability to make his teams overachieve, a quality they highly valued. Perhaps the most instantly recognisable feature of Slot’s football, and surely the trait that caught Liverpool’s eye, is his ultra-aggressive, ultra-intense pressing. Slot’s high-energy, hard-pressing and possession-centric attacking tactics will be familiar to all Premier League fans. Slot is well aligned with the tactical fashion of the day, but more like the trendsetter Guardiola than the more maverick Klopp.

The Liverpool fans are excited to welcome Arne Slot in June.