"Nobody has to say thank you to me" — that's Jurgen Klopp, speaking to Peter Crouch on his podcast this week, and it's the kind of line that lands differently coming from a manager who delivered Liverpool their first league title in 30 years.
Klopp left Anfield in May 2024 after nine years, a Champions League, a Premier League, and a bond with the fanbase that apparently hasn't cooled. He was recently back at the ground for a Liverpool Legends vs Borussia Dortmund friendly, walking out to a standing ovation. The man is an honorary ambassador for the LFC Foundation now. He's not exactly gone.
What those nine years actually built
The podcast appearance gave Klopp space to reflect properly, and he was characteristically direct about what the era meant. "Nobody can think back to these nine years without a smile on their face," he said. And he's right — but it's worth being specific about why.
He arrived in October 2015 inheriting a mid-table mess from Brendan Rodgers, drew his first home game with West Brom, and celebrated it like a trophy. From that, he built a squad capable of winning every major honour available. The 2019 Champions League. The 2020 title that ended a three-decade wait. A domestic treble of cups in 2022.
He also touched on the Coutinho situation — one of the defining what-ifs of his tenure. "I would have loved to have played a full season with Philippe Coutinho, Bobby Firmino, Sadio and Mo. Wow." They never did. Coutinho left for Barcelona in January 2018, just as Salah was hitting his stride. The money funded the rebuild that won the Champions League. Sometimes the deal that hurts is the one that wins you everything.
The kids who weren't even born when he arrived
One moment from his recent Anfield visit stuck with him. A ten-year-old at the community centre told him: "I love you more than my dad." Klopp noted the kid wasn't even born when he took the job.
That's the measure of what he built — not the trophies on a shelf, but a version of Liverpool that a whole generation grew up with as their reference point. Arne Slot is doing a fine job of setting his own standard, but the shadow of that Klopp era is long, and the fanbase still feels it.
Klopp is now head of global soccer at Red Bull, a role that keeps him in the game without the week-to-week grind. Whether that eventually pulls him back to a dugout somewhere is the real question. For now, he's happy looking back with a smile. So are most Liverpool supporters.
