Only four times before the match, the German fan pulls on a hooded tracksuit and hits a cap with the Liverpool logo on his forehead. They will try to squeeze the maximum out of the team, but it doesn’t look like a title farewell.
On Wednesday, the players disappointed him in the derby with Everton, losing 0:2, and at another time the smiling coach said sourly: “You can all look at the scoreboard. We can only hope that the crisis hits the opponent. But if we continue like this, nothing will change.”
One thing will change for sure, soon. Klopp will finish the season and then quit because he needs to make a mark after nine years. Already in the winter, he confided to fans in a long video that he was running out of juice and told the bosses to start looking for a successor.
Klopp in the match against Atalanta.
So who’s applying, gentlemen?
Perhaps a little surprisingly, Liverpool aren’t going after big names. At first he dreamed of Xabi Alonso, but he promised to stay in Leverkusen after a miraculous season.
Then he lured Rubén Amorim from Sporting Lisbon, and when it seemed that the deal was close, the young coach unexpectedly refused – then he managed to give West Ham a basket. That’s why Arne Slot, the unique coach of Feyenoord Rotterdam, is now number one.
Admit it: what do you really know about him?
You probably noticed that he is very drawn to England and shows it. On Thursday, he frankly confessed to journalists: “Clubs are negotiating and I’m waiting to see what happens. But I’m clear, I want to go to Liverpool. So I hope that both sides will come to an agreement and it will work out.”
You’ll probably also remember that the bald guy with the big smile was there when Feyenoord sent Slavia out of the Conference League in the quarter-finals two years ago. And further?
Perhaps it will surprise you how much he resembles Klopp: as if Liverpool wanted to find a true copy.
Angry coach Arne Slot of Feyenoord Rotterdam during the cup match against Slavia.
Both had an average career as a player, they soon knew that they lacked talent for the top level and that they would only be able to get a chance for a top job as coaches.
Both of them know how to win over players by the way they communicate: they like to joke, but you also always know exactly what you’re up to.
Both set a similar footballing vision: high intensity, switching, strength on the wings, physically extra demanding style.
Both also occasionally resort to unorthodox methods. Klopp once persuaded the players after losing the final of the Europa League to get rid of their bad mood by dancing, while Slot sent some to kickboxing lessons in order to instill aggression in them.
One rather smiling difference? If you ask who Slot looked up to the most, you will hear: “Pep Guardiola influenced me the most.” That is, Klopp’s biggest rival and also the one who will probably take the title from him with Manchester City in the farewell season.
What will happen then? Following on from the man who won eight trophies with Liverpool, including the league title and a Champions League triumph, will be a task for Sloto and anyone else. Look at Manchester United’s rivals: since the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson retired eleven years ago, they have rotated through eight managers but have yet to find the right one.
And what if it’s the other way around? Why not, Liverpool have this experience. When Bill Shankly, who had lifted the club from the Second Division mire to three titles, said goodbye after fifteen seasons in the mid-seventies, it was said: watch, now comes the relegation. But assistant Bob Paisley was in charge of the team and won six titles, including the Champions Cup three times and another eleven trophies.
That even now Liverpool would find a new, even better Klopp?
