Jurgen Klopp: Trophies and records for the former Liverpool boss

Jurgen Klopp, smiling and bespectacled, sits down to meet the British media for the first time.

The Liverpool team he takes over have had a frustrating start to the season, leaving no sign of ending their long title wait.

Not that the new manager is still talking about his chances.

“I’m the normal man,” he proclaims. He adds: “What people think when you come in is not that important. What people think when you leave is much more important.”

Eight and a half years later, Klopp made his final punches in front of the Kop and left stage right.

We look at the numbers to assess its achievements.

Judging Klopp on silverware alone, his gain is remarkable.

A Premier League title, a Champions League crown, an FA Cup, two EFL Cups, the Community Shield, a UEFA Super Cup and a Fifa Club World Cup.

During that title-winning 2019-20 season, his Liverpool side became the fastest team to reach 30 wins and were on the verge of crossing the 100-point mark.

His trophy cabinet could have been much fuller too had it not been for heartbreaking Champions League final defeats to Real Madrid in 2017-18 and 2021-22 respectively, coupled with Manchester’s futile pursuits City in the Premier League, surpassing 90 points. twice and always finished second.

At that same press conference, Klopp spoke of the transformation of “skeptics into believers” and the relentless search for perfection that characterized his reign and brought back the faith and pride of Reds fans.

However, the German’s tenure was far from perfect.

In addition to the disappointing periods in which his teams failed, there were years of inactivity. His Reds side failed to defend their title in 2020-21 and were jaded to finish only fifth last season.

Indeed, in the 2021-22 season, Liverpool battled on four fronts until the final moments of the campaign, missing out on the Premier League and Champions League titles, but winning two domestic cups.

Likewise, this season’s remarkable effort has just one EFL Cup to show for it, as his Reds side ran out of steam at the critical moment.

Klopp allowed Liverpool fans to dream again – but he couldn’t turn every dream into reality.

In many ways, Klopp is unhappy to have managed Liverpool during this period.

Less than 12 months after his arrival, he was joined in the Premier League by Pep Guardiola, a boss who had gotten the better of him in the Bundesliga and would prove a little too strong throughout their time in England.

Looking through the annals of Premier League managers, only Guardiola, the irrepressible Sir Alex Ferguson and Antonio Conte can boast a better win ratio than the former Reds boss.

In another era, Klopp might have had a significant set of Premier League winners’ medals rather than the single gong he won in 2019-20.

Indeed, this is borne out by his record compared to other Liverpool managers – and the Reds have had more than their share of exceptional head coaches throughout history.

Klopp’s first game in charge came at White Hart Lane, a 0-0 draw with Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham that was marked by Liverpool’s best running statistics of the season so far.

Since that day, Klopp has fielded 121 players. No surprise to see who dominates the number of minutes with Mohamed Salah far ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Down below, Bootle striker Joe Hardy got eight minutes in an FA Cup tie at Shrewsbury in February 2020 – and that was it.

Spare a thought for Brazilian midfielder Arthur, signed on deadline day 2022 to fill a gaping hole in Liverpool’s midfield and having only managed 13 minutes of action for the Reds.

And then there are the scorers. Salah leads the way with 211 goals, followed by his partners in crime Sadio Mane (120) and Roberto Firmino (110). James Milner (25) is perhaps an unexpected inclusion in the top 10.

Klopp’s ‘Mr Professional’ played almost everywhere for the Reds boss – and would no doubt have gone in goal if necessary.

In total, Klopp signed 37 players during his tenure with the Reds (Source: Transfermarkt), at an approximate cost of £850 million.

Topping that bill was the £85m spent on Darwin Nunez in 2022, with the lowest permanent transfer fee of £2m spent to acquire emergency centre-back Ben Davies from Preston in 2021 .

He has rarely drawn from the free transfer pool, with only Joel Matip breaking into the first team among those acquired without a fee.

Klopp was also adept at dispatching players at the right time. Selling arguably his best player in Philippe Coutinho – for a huge initial sum of £105m plus add-ons – which saw the purchase of defender Virgil van Dijk (£75m in January 2017) and goalkeeper Alisson (£67m in summer 2018).

These acquisitions made Liverpool mere Champions League contenders and the Reds’ best team in decades.

Few blame Klopp, the odd clanger – Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Marko Grujic among the very limited number who didn’t work out.

Klopp’s achievements in the transfer market are best contextualized against his main Premier League rivals.

Not only has he comfortably spent the least of the five highest-earning clubs, but his net spend, taking into account sales, is also the lowest.

Liverpool must have been savvy when it came to recruiting and selling – luckily Klopp is one of the shrewdest in the business.

Only one team has truly had an iron grip on Klopp’s Liverpool – and that’s Real Madrid. Two defeats in the Champions League final were understandably difficult to swallow against the Spanish giants.

No doubt he will also be frustrated with his record against Manchester rivals City and United, despite some memorable victories against both. The average points per game against these two teams is 1.48 and 1.43 respectively.

On the other hand, many teams hated facing the Reds under Klopp, most notably Aston Villa who only had one win against him during his time in charge at Anfield. Granted, it was a dramatic 7-2 win at a fan-less Villa Park in 2020, but otherwise Klopp had his number.

Likewise Bournemouth, beaten 9-0 at Anfield two seasons ago, Watford and Newcastle had particularly difficult times against Klopp.

In fact, against just five Premier League teams, Klopp has had a record under two points per game.

Many clubs will be relieved to see him go.