At Fridays press conference, the last before his Liverpool team face Tottenham in the Champions League final in Madrid, Jurgen Klopp cut a typically charismatic figure.
Laughter frequently punctuated proceedings as a relaxed-looking Klopp discussed his teams preparations for Saturday nights European showpiece.
It was classic Klopp: seriousness followed by flashes of that pearly white smile that has made the German such a popular figure at Anfield and – however begrudgingly – respected among his teams rivals.
But amid the positivity as Klopp seeks to lead his famous, proud team to their sixth title in Europes top club competition, there is a lingering question that was also addressed on Friday: namely Klopps disastrous record in major finals.
KLOPPS FINAL CURSE
And it really is a record that makes grim reading.
Since leading Borussia Dortmund to a 5-2 hammering over Bayern Munich in the German Cup final in 2012, Klopp has not savoured success in any of his subsequent six finals.
That started in 2013 when Dortmund lost to Bayern in a tense Champions League final at Wembley, triggering a jinx that saw defeat against the same opposition in the German Cup final in 2014.
Klopp met the same fate with Dortmund in the German Cup final a year later, on that occasion going down 3-1 to Wolfsburg.
After moving to Liverpool in October 2015, he has so far brought his final jinx with him.
He was denied his first chance of silverware with the club when they lost to Manchester City on penalties in the League Cup Final in February 2016, and further heartbreak came that season when they lost 3-1 to Sevilla in the Europa League final.
Last season, of course, was capped by the nightmare of Kiev, when two blunders by Loris Karius helped Real Madrid to a 3-1 win in the Champions League final.
STRONGER FOUNDATIONS
When asked about his agonizing litany of oh-so-nears on Friday, Klopp joked that “in the last seven years I am world record holder in winning semi-finals…
“There can be moments that are unlucky and lucky, but I cannot change that. I understand luck as if you work for it then you get it from time to time."
So will Klopp finally be “lucky” on Saturday, and could his reputation with the Liverpool fans withstand more final failure?
Firstly, Liverpool head into the game against Spurs at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in a far better place, and as a far more well-rounded team, than they did against Madrid last season.
On that night in Kiev they were forced to contend with factors ranging from the unfortunate (the loss of Mohamed Salah to injury early on), to the ridiculous (Karius personal calamity), to the sublime (Gareth Bales stunning overhead kick).
Since then Klopp has worked shrewdly to fix the problems in the team.
The most glaring of those was in the goalkeeping department, where a record £67 million was spent to bring in Brazilian Alisson Becker from Roma last summer.
He followed the acquisition of center back Virgil Van Dijk earlier that year for £75 million, as Klopp set about finding the pieces to complete the puzzle of a team that so often dazzled going forwards but was prone to collapse in defense.
Van Dijk has truly shown his worth this season, adding a composure and authority to the Liverpool backline which, coupled with Alissons influence, has given a defensive surety to the team.
With the added steel of Fabinho – a £44 million signing from Monaco last summer – in midfield, Klopp has created a team capable of controlling games, rather than simply blitzing the opposition in frantic 10-minute bursts.
Liverpool now have stronger foundations on which to build their free-flowing football which so often culminates with one of the attacking trident of Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
CULTURAL CAPITAL
The undeniable improvement to the team has so far, however, failed to yield tangible returns in the form of trophies.
This season, a Premier League campaign which saw them suffer just one defeat and rack up 97 points was still, agonizingly, not enough to seal a first league title in 29 years. And then there are those three lost finals.
But this is where Klopp the man, as opposed to Klopp the manager, is such an important factor.
On moving to Liverpool in 2015, Klopp set about waging a campaign for the hearts as well as minds of the clubs fans in his relentlessly positive style.
Despite the lack of silerware and some missteps along the way – the questionable celebration of a late home draw against West Brom in December, barely two months into the job, stands out – its a war that Klopp has resoundingly won.
The German is revered by the Anfield faithful for the way he conducts himself, and the way he has forged such a bond with fans of a club with an acute sense of its own storied history as well as its link with the community.
Its telling that, amid all the tension and frantic preparations for Saturdays game in Madrid, Klopp took the tRead More – Source
At Fridays press conference, the last before his Liverpool team face Tottenham in the Champions League final in Madrid, Jurgen Klopp cut a typically charismatic figure.
Laughter frequently punctuated proceedings as a relaxed-looking Klopp discussed his teams preparations for Saturday nights European showpiece.
It was classic Klopp: seriousness followed by flashes of that pearly white smile that has made the German such a popular figure at Anfield and – however begrudgingly – respected among his teams rivals.
But amid the positivity as Klopp seeks to lead his famous, proud team to their sixth title in Europes top club competition, there is a lingering question that was also addressed on Friday: namely Klopps disastrous record in major finals.
KLOPPS FINAL CURSE
And it really is a record that makes grim reading.
Since leading Borussia Dortmund to a 5-2 hammering over Bayern Munich in the German Cup final in 2012, Klopp has not savoured success in any of his subsequent six finals.
That started in 2013 when Dortmund lost to Bayern in a tense Champions League final at Wembley, triggering a jinx that saw defeat against the same opposition in the German Cup final in 2014.
Klopp met the same fate with Dortmund in the German Cup final a year later, on that occasion going down 3-1 to Wolfsburg.
After moving to Liverpool in October 2015, he has so far brought his final jinx with him.
He was denied his first chance of silverware with the club when they lost to Manchester City on penalties in the League Cup Final in February 2016, and further heartbreak came that season when they lost 3-1 to Sevilla in the Europa League final.
Last season, of course, was capped by the nightmare of Kiev, when two blunders by Loris Karius helped Real Madrid to a 3-1 win in the Champions League final.
STRONGER FOUNDATIONS
When asked about his agonizing litany of oh-so-nears on Friday, Klopp joked that “in the last seven years I am world record holder in winning semi-finals…
“There can be moments that are unlucky and lucky, but I cannot change that. I understand luck as if you work for it then you get it from time to time."
So will Klopp finally be “lucky” on Saturday, and could his reputation with the Liverpool fans withstand more final failure?
Firstly, Liverpool head into the game against Spurs at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in a far better place, and as a far more well-rounded team, than they did against Madrid last season.
On that night in Kiev they were forced to contend with factors ranging from the unfortunate (the loss of Mohamed Salah to injury early on), to the ridiculous (Karius personal calamity), to the sublime (Gareth Bales stunning overhead kick).
Since then Klopp has worked shrewdly to fix the problems in the team.
The most glaring of those was in the goalkeeping department, where a record £67 million was spent to bring in Brazilian Alisson Becker from Roma last summer.
He followed the acquisition of center back Virgil Van Dijk earlier that year for £75 million, as Klopp set about finding the pieces to complete the puzzle of a team that so often dazzled going forwards but was prone to collapse in defense.
Van Dijk has truly shown his worth this season, adding a composure and authority to the Liverpool backline which, coupled with Alissons influence, has given a defensive surety to the team.
With the added steel of Fabinho – a £44 million signing from Monaco last summer – in midfield, Klopp has created a team capable of controlling games, rather than simply blitzing the opposition in frantic 10-minute bursts.
Liverpool now have stronger foundations on which to build their free-flowing football which so often culminates with one of the attacking trident of Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
CULTURAL CAPITAL
The undeniable improvement to the team has so far, however, failed to yield tangible returns in the form of trophies.
This season, a Premier League campaign which saw them suffer just one defeat and rack up 97 points was still, agonizingly, not enough to seal a first league title in 29 years. And then there are those three lost finals.
But this is where Klopp the man, as opposed to Klopp the manager, is such an important factor.
On moving to Liverpool in 2015, Klopp set about waging a campaign for the hearts as well as minds of the clubs fans in his relentlessly positive style.
Despite the lack of silerware and some missteps along the way – the questionable celebration of a late home draw against West Brom in December, barely two months into the job, stands out – its a war that Klopp has resoundingly won.
The German is revered by the Anfield faithful for the way he conducts himself, and the way he has forged such a bond with fans of a club with an acute sense of its own storied history as well as its link with the community.
Its telling that, amid all the tension and frantic preparations for Saturdays game in Madrid, Klopp took the tRead More – Source
