Jürgen Klopp

Jürgen Norbert Klopp (German pronunciation: [ˈjʏʁɡn̩ ˈklɔp] ; born 16 June 1967) is a German football executive, former manager and former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, he has been Head of Global Soccer for Red Bull GmbH since January 2025.

Klopp spent most of his playing career at Mainz 05. He was initially deployed as a striker, but was later moved to defence. Upon retiring in 2001, Klopp became the club's manager, and secured Bundesliga promotion in 2004. After suffering relegation in the 2006–07 season and unable to achieve promotion, Klopp resigned in 2008 as the club's longest-serving manager. He then became manager of Borussia Dortmund, guiding them to the Bundesliga title in 2010–11, before winning Dortmund's first-ever domestic double during a record-breaking season. Klopp also guided Dortmund to a runner-up finish in the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League before leaving in 2015 as their longest-serving manager.

Klopp was appointed manager of Liverpool in 2015. He guided the club to UEFA Champions League finals in 2018 and 2022, and won the trophy in 2019 to secure his first – and Liverpool's sixth – title in the competition. Klopp's side finished second in the 2018–19 Premier League, registering 97 points; the then third-highest total in the history of the English top division, and the most by a team without winning the title. The following season, Klopp won the UEFA Super Cup and Liverpool's first FIFA Club World Cup, before delivering Liverpool's first Premier League title, amassing a club record 99 points and breaking a number of top-flight records. These achievements won him back-to-back FIFA Coach of the Year awards in 2019 and 2020. Klopp won a cup double of the EFL Cup and FA Cup in 2022. He won another EFL Cup in 2024, departing that same year.

Klopp is a notable proponent of Gegenpressing, whereby the team, after losing possession, immediately attempts to win back possession, rather than falling back to regroup. He has described his sides as playing "heavy metal" football, in reference to their pressing and high attacking output. Klopp has cited his main influences as Italian coach Arrigo Sacchi, and former Mainz coach Wolfgang Frank. The importance of emotion is something Klopp has underlined throughout his managerial career, and he has gained both admiration and notoriety for his enthusiastic touchline celebrations.

Early life and playing career

Jürgen Norbert Klopp was born on 16 June 1967 in Stuttgart, the state capital of Baden-Württemberg, to Elisabeth (1939–2021) and Norbert Klopp (1932–2000) a travelling salesman and a former goalkeeper. Klopp grew up in the countryside in the Black Forest village of Glatten near Freudenstadt with two older sisters. He started playing for local club SV Glatten and later TuS Ergenzingen as a junior player, with the next stint at 1. FC Pforzheim and then at three Frankfurt clubs, Eintracht Frankfurt II, Viktoria Sindlingen and Rot-Weiss Frankfurt during his adolescence. Introduced to football through his father, Klopp was a supporter of VfB Stuttgart in his youth. As a young boy, Klopp aspired to become a doctor, but he did not believe he "was ever smart enough for a medical career," saying "when they were handing out our A-Level certificates, my headmaster said to me, 'I hope it works out with football, otherwise it's not looking too good for you.'"

While playing as an amateur footballer, Klopp worked a number of part-time jobs including working at a local video rental store and loading heavy items onto lorries. In 1988, while attending the Goethe University Frankfurt, as well as playing for Eintracht Frankfurt's reserves, Klopp managed the Frankfurt D-Juniors. In the summer of 1990, Klopp was signed by Mainz 05. He spent most of his professional career in Mainz, from 1990 to 2001, with his attitude and commitment making him a fan-favourite. Originally a striker, Klopp began playing as a defender in 1995. That same year, Klopp obtained a diploma in sports science at the Goethe University of Frankfurt (MSc equivalent), writing his thesis about walking. He retired as Mainz 05's record goal scorer, registering 56 goals in total, including 52 league goals.

Klopp confessed that as a player he felt more suited to a managerial role, describing himself by saying "I had fourth-division feet and a first-division head." Recalling his trial at Eintracht Frankfurt where he played alongside Andreas Möller, Klopp described how his 19-year-old self thought, "if that's football, I'm playing a completely different game. He was world-class. I was not even class." As a player, Klopp closely followed his manager's methods on the training field as well as making weekly trips to Cologne to study under Erich Rutemöller to obtain his Football Coaching Licence.

Managerial career

Mainz 05

Upon his retirement from playing for Mainz 05 in 2. Bundesliga, Klopp was appointed as the club's manager on 27 February 2001 following the dismissal of Eckhard Krautzun. The day after, Klopp took charge of their first match, which saw Mainz 05 secure a 1–0 home win over MSV Duisburg. Klopp went on to win six out of his first seven games in charge, eventually finishing in 14th place, avoiding relegation with one game to spare. In his first full season in charge in 2001–02, Klopp guided Mainz to finish 4th in the league as he implemented his favoured pressing and counter-pressing tactics, narrowly missing promotion. Mainz again finished 4th in 2002–03, denied promotion again on the final day on goal difference. After two seasons of disappointment, Klopp led Mainz to a third-place finish in the 2003–04 season, securing promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time in the club's history.

Despite having the smallest budget and the smallest stadium in the league, Mainz finished 11th in their first top-flight season in 2004–05. Klopp's side finished 11th again in 2005–06 as well as securing qualification for the 2005–06 UEFA Cup, although they were knocked out in the first round by eventual champions Sevilla. At the end of the 2006–07 season, Mainz 05 were relegated, but Klopp chose to remain with the club. However, unable to achieve promotion the next year, Klopp resigned at the end of the 2007–08 season. He finished with a record of 109 wins, 78 draws, and 83 losses.

Borussia Dortmund

2008–2013: Consecutive league titles; first European final

In May 2008, Klopp was approached to become the new manager of Borussia Dortmund. Despite having interest from German champions Bayern Munich, Klopp eventually signed a two-year contract at the club, which had finished in a disappointing 13th place under previous manager Thomas Doll. Klopp's opening game as manager was on 9 August in a 3–1 DFB-Pokal victory away to Rot-Weiss Essen. In his first season, Klopp won his first trophy with the club after defeating German champions Bayern Munich to claim the 2008 German Supercup. He led the club to a sixth-place finish in his first season in charge. The next season Klopp secured European football as he led Dortmund to a fifth-place finish, despite having one of the youngest squads in the league.

After losing 2–0 to Bayer Leverkusen on the opening day of the 2010–11 Bundesliga, Klopp's Dortmund side won fourteen of their next fifteen matches to secure the top spot in the league for Christmas. They clinched the 2010–11 Bundesliga title, their seventh league title, with two games to spare on 30 April 2011, beating 1. FC Nürnberg 2–0 at home. Klopp's side were the youngest ever side to win the Bundesliga. Klopp and his team successfully defended their title, winning the 2011–12 Bundesliga. Their total of 81 points that season was the greatest total points in Bundesliga history and the 47 points earned in the second half of the season also set a new record. Their 25 league wins equalled Bayern Munich's record, while their 28-league match unbeaten run was the best ever recorded in a single German top-flight season. Dortmund lost the 2011 DFL-Supercup against rivals Schalke 04. On 12 May 2012, Klopp sealed the club's first ever domestic double, by defeating Bayern Munich 5–2 to win the 2012 DFB-Pokal final, which he described as being "better than [he] could have imagined".