Jurgen Klopp’s time at Liverpool changed him, or at least his perception.
When he arrived at Anfield in 2015, there was a sense of ease about him. He was cool and calm ahead of the mammoth task of reawakening the Reds as a force of English and European football. They were floundering in mid-table, mostly directionless despite a title challenge under his predecessor, Brendan Rodgers, two seasons prior.
In his first press conference, Klopp joked that he was ‘the normal one’ (in reference to Jose Mourinho’s ‘special one’ introduction at Chelsea nine years earlier) and made only one pledge, to turn doubters into believers.
With one Premier League title, a Champions League win (Liverpool’s sixth in their history) and two more final defeats, Klopp had certainly done that.
But when he arrived, having led Borussia Dortmund to two Bundesliga titles and a Champions League final, he was seen as something of a likeable, affable character. By the time he left, he appeared to be showing much more of an edge regularly.
In reality, the edge was always there. To be a winner to the level of Klopp, it is almost a requirement. There was pragmatic play casinospill and adaptation in his methods. It wasn’t as if he was always easy-going at Dortmund, either. But nine years at Liverpool, at the sharp end of competition, brought out a more aggressive side to him.
Now he isn’t the joker many thought he was, as he showed at his unveiling as Germany boss last week.
While speaking of his pride at taking the national job, he also fired warnings to the press, and by extension the public, about their conduct.
“If you behave badly and don’t leave my family in peace, then I’ll be gone, I’ll just turn away,” Klopp said.
“I know there are other countries where national team coaches are treated even worse.
“I’m not doing this job for myself, I’m doing it for you. I’m taking this job even though I’ve seen how you’ve treated Julian Nagelsmann and Thomas Tuchel.
“I love this job, but I am always ready to call it quits if need be.”
It was a very different approach to the one he took at his previous coaching introduction. But Klopp was regularly outspoken as time went on at Liverpool, perhaps harbouring a ‘them against us’ mentality as he chased countless titles. If that was his thinking, then he could do worse than to adopt the same approach with Germany.
Despite being one of the world’s most successful footballing nations, winning the World Cup four times, Germany are enduring a tough moment. Their last 32 defeat to Paraguay this summer was only a marginal improvement on their group stage exits in 2018 and 2022.
Klopp is the latest man charged with reinstating former glories, their last time coming in 2014. He is on familiar ground, having done the same with Liverpool.
If given the time, he can be the man to get Germany firmly back on track. But this is an expectant country, which has already ripped up its rulebook and started again this century.
Success isn’t just a hope or dream as it may be for England; it is barely an expectation. For Germany, winning is a demand. Klopp’s presence will only increase that demand, and he better be prepared for the pressure.
Fortunately, given his first press conference, he has already set his stall out. Klopp may be more battle-hardened these days, but that makes him even more ideal for the job in hand.
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