The Transformation
It wasn’t long before Jurgen Klopp knew the task of molding and shaping his players into a tight outfit had already begun to bear consistent fruits as the results were ample testimony to.
For the first time, this preceding summer saw no need for any serious transfer transactions, a clear sign that bodes well for the condition of his squad – they were now more than ready to meet all challenges heads up while continuing to grow as one indivisible, core unit with almost mercenary-like tactical efficiency, relentless aggression and mercurial mobility.
Foremost on Klopp’s mind in the early years was how long it would take to win. He was confident even then that four years would be sufficient a time to have won something. And win they certainly did!
Klopp has transformed Liverpool without the shadow of a doubt. Ruthless and strong now, his men are possessed of a mentality second to none that’s unerringly zoned in on winning. All this have also not been developed at the expense of other vital prerequisites like team dynamics. Of course, all this now pales in stark comparison to his first Liverpool game against Spurs in 2015 when he made his lacklustre boys run 5km further than they ever had all that season.
The Quintessential Quality
The icing on Klopp’s Liverpool cake is the uncompromising quality of the players he personally, meticulously sources, screens and selects for insertion into his A-Team, being himself invested with that instinctive ability to discern whether each new member is able to accept his philosophy and uncompromisable way of doing things.
The proof of the pudding is always invariably in the eating. To be able to maintain and sustain the stellar record he and his team have successfully created over 18 months shows a strength of character currently unrivalled in European football across the continent. Not forgetting too that this is the distilled Klopp-version of the original inferior team that he had been handed and had to radically overhaul both in defence and attack. Talk about character building.
It is also most refreshing that Klopp’s Liverpool mantra doesn’t pander to divas and superstars, self-proclaimed or otherwise. This is highly unusual and totally unexpected in a sport where every other member of the squad is a multi-millionaire. How the German maestro manages to subdue the egos and bring them down from the lofty clouds is definitely management psychology that would do even Freud proud. Klopp’s axe comes down unhesitatingly at the first signs of dodginess of any kind.
For most others, these would’ve been a most fulfilling and rewarding four years of hard labour paying off. But not for Klopp. There isn’t any time for rest yet. For him the League has yet to be won and the team is still not at its full potential.
“The situation is different now, there are so many good teams in the Premier League, City really good and young enough to stay on track, Chelsea for me big potential, Arsenal , you think ‘wow’. So I can not predict what happens in the future, but I have to make sure is that we are always ready for the next step.”
To great minds, it’s always about looking forward and preparing for the next step to take. In order to stay ahead.