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[@TheDiaryOfACEO] Jürgen Klopp: Would You Go Back To Manage LFC...? The Real Reason I Fell In Love With Liverpool!

· 10 min read
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@TheDiaryOfACEO - "Jürgen Klopp: Would You Go Back To Manage LFC...? The Real Reason I Fell In Love With Liverpool!"

Link: https://youtu.be/UMy6GESNkDc

Short Summary​

Jurgen Klopp reflects on his successful managerial career at Mainz, Dortmund, and Liverpool, emphasizing the importance of fostering a strong team culture, understanding individual player needs, and creating an environment where everyone feels valued. He discusses his leadership philosophy, his reasons for leaving Liverpool, and the possibility of managing the club again in the future while currently enjoying his work with Red Bull.

Key Quotes​

Okay, here are 5 quotes from the transcript that I found particularly insightful, data-driven, surprising, or strongly opinionated:

  1. "I said I will never coach another team, a different team in in England. So, that means if then it's Liverpool. Yeah. So, yeah, theoretically it's possible." This is a very definitive statement regarding his future in English football. It strongly suggests if he were to return to management in England, it would only be with Liverpool.

  2. "So United was that big. We get all the players we want. We are like we can this we get him. We get him. We get him. We get him. And I was sitting there. So I it was not my project. It didn't feel like my it was a wrong time but on top of that it was not my project." This quote provides direct insight into why he turned down Manchester United. It wasn't just about timing, but about a fundamental mismatch in philosophies and a lack of control over the team-building process. This goes against the narrative that he was never interested.

  3. "If you don't learn from a defeat it's a real defeat if you learn from it it's just it's a very very important information and that's how I always understood understood it I had enough opportunities to learn. Really, how I said I lost more Champions League finals than most people play." This reveals Klopp's mentality towards losses, framing them not as failures, but as vital learning experiences. It's a strong example of a growth mindset and highlights his resilience.

  4. "There are some reasons what the people in that conversation told me which I didn't like. So United was that big. We get all the players we want. We are like we can this we get him. We get him. We get him. We get him. And I was sitting there. So I it was not my project. It didn't feel like my it was a wrong time but on top of that it was not my project." This quote shows that Klopp wanted a project that he owned and built rather than inheriting something he did not believe in.

  5. "We created our own world in that time which was more important than the outside world." This reflects how Klopp created a unique environment within Liverpool that allowed the team to thrive and focus on what mattered, dismissing external pressures and criticisms.

Detailed Summary​

Okay, here's a detailed summary of the YouTube video transcript in bullet points, covering the key topics, arguments, and information discussed:

I. Early Life & Influences:

  • Parents: Mother was caring and loving, making him feel unconditionally accepted. Father was demanding and had high expectations for him in sports. This created a dynamic of confidence (from his mother's love) and ambition (from his father's expectations).
  • Father's Influence: His father was very competitive, always pushing him in sports (skiing, football) and never letting him win easily. This instilled a competitive drive. His father's ability to speak publicly also influenced him.
  • Mother's Influence: He attributes his love for people and empathy to his mother.
  • Early Career Aspirations: Initially wanted to be a doctor, motivated by witnessing financial struggles in his family and wanting to provide financial security.
  • Football Career Start: In his village, he was the best player because of his physical talent. He surprised by getting offers from professional football clubs and he accepted the one from Frankfurt.
  • Becoming a Father at 20: Massively scared at first when he became a father, but described it as a defining moment that made him an adult and instilled discipline. He became a manager, he tried to understand his players and their backgrounds.

II. Managerial Philosophy & Leadership:

  • Individualized Leadership: He believes in treating people individually, understanding their backgrounds, and tailoring his approach to get the best out of them. He treated his Liverpool players in a way that took into account that they grew up in different areas. Growing up in Germany is different than growing up in Senegal, and he took this into consideration. He did not think every person could be treated the same.
  • Creating a Clear Vision: Stresses the importance of making the team's goal crystal clear to everyone, so they are self-motivated.
  • Importance of Listening and Understanding: Emphasizes talking to players, listening to their stories, and understanding their backgrounds to connect with them. This is critical for effective leadership.
  • Leadership is Personal: Said leading yourself is the most important thing you can do.
  • Team Culture: Said one of the most important parts of leading the team is bringing them all together.
  • Honest Communication: He prioritizes telling players what they need to hear, not just what they want to hear. He wants them to grow to grow together as a group.
  • Defensive Responsibility: Even the most talented players (unless they were Messi) had to contribute defensively and said everyone had to buy into that.
  • Protecting Players: Protect players from public criticism to build their confidence is super important.
  • Addressing Social Media: He would address questionable social media posts in front of the whole team as a form of deserved punishment.
  • Learning from Defeat: Said you have to accept defeat, and learn from it in order to be successful.
  • Emphasizing the "Why": He loves to find a reason to get the team to give their absolute all in the moment.
  • Belief in Players: Thought that after all the years without good football, the players need to believe in themselves and in each other again.
  • Protecting Players Confidence: You have to protect players from the public.
  • Liverpool Transfer Committee: He was in charge of the transfer committee and no player would sign that he did not want.
  • Don't Waste Time: He doesn't waste time with players that he does not see any talent in.

III. Mainz & Dortmund Experiences:

  • Taking over Mainz: Became Mainz manager after the team rejected their current manager. It took seven games and they won six of those games.
  • Team chemistry with Mainz: Said they were all a bunch of friends.
  • Implemented Ball-Oriented Defending: Fixed the defensive situation by implementing four in the back, ball orientated defending.
  • Belief in the team: They wrote the team off but he needed the team to believe in them, so he made sure they did.
  • Dortmund Approach: Was offered the Manchester United job, but turned it down because it didn't feel like his project.

IV. Liverpool Arrival & Transformation:

  • Boys loved Liverpool: Said he was on family holiday and his boys saw the phone call and wanted to play for Liverpool.
  • Liverpool Culture: Emphasized the importance of understanding the Liverpool community and the club's history, as it means more to the people than just football. It is not just a club where you play during your career, it's the club you will remember. It means more than just a football club.
  • Manchester United Interest: Manchester United wanted to bring him to the team but it was the wrong time.
  • Turning Down Manchester United: He felt that Manchester United were too focused on bringing in big names, not building a team or project he believed in. He wanted a "pure football project." He didn't like that the team wanted to bring in big name players rather than focusing on the project.
  • First Impressions: Arrived at a club that wasn't shiny and new, but he liked the core team and its attitude. He had five strikers so the first thing he needed to do was organize them.
  • Heavy Metal Football: Coined the term to describe Liverpool's high-intensity, energetic style of play. Give your all from the first to the last minute. Don't waste time with holding back.
  • Heavy Metal Football for a Reason: Said the only reason he was playing the football was because there were other people watching the game.

V. The "Liverpool Way" & Transfer Philosophies

  • Community Focus: Understanding the Liverpool community is central to success, and the club means more than just football to its supporters. The Liverpool way is to understand the community.
  • Evolution Not Revolution: He said Anna Slot was successful because he did not drastically change the dynamics of the team.
  • Building a Strong Squad: Stressed it is just normal to think about the transfer window.
  • Importance of Building Stance and Training Grounds: Happy that his team was as successful as they were.
  • Culture First: He preferred attitude and character over social media followers and past achievements, especially early in his tenure. Said you did not necessarily have the world's famous starting 11 but you could beat anybody.
  • Diogo Jota: The player was great to play with but the player was even better as a person. After the death of the player. He replaced him with two players.

VI. Key Events & Personal Reflections

  • Near Misses: Acknowledges the near misses in his career, but emphasizes their importance in learning and motivating him to try harder. He views himself as a "constant tryer" rather than a "constant winner."
  • Michael Edwards: Acknowledges that the outside world idolized Michael and he was not a one man show. He worked with so many people and everyone had to be together.
  • Relationship with Owners: Said Fandom gave him the money, but he didn't ask in a way if you don't get it we can do it.
  • Relationship with Nunes: Had a good relationship and he had the good moments at Liverpool.
  • The Death of his Mother: Said it was the saddest moment of his life and one of the reasons that motivated him to leave Liverpool.

VII. On Leaving Liverpool:

  • Energy Depletion: The main reason for leaving was a lack of personal energy to continue giving everything the job demanded.
  • Desire for a Break: He needed a break to recharge and explore other aspects of life.
  • Structure Changed A lot changed and there was no longer a structure.
  • Theoretically Possible Return: He wouldn't rule out managing Liverpool again in the future but said he didn't have the energy for it and was not planning to.

VIII. Future Goals & Legacy:

  • Travel and Family: Wants to travel, spend time with his wife, children, and grandchildren.
  • Red Bull Role: Focused on doing a good job for Red Bull and the people he works with.
  • Passion & Togetherness: The most important thing is not knowing everything, its about how close the team grows together.
  • Walking Through Fire People will walk through fire for others, but you have to help them create the culture first.

IX. Closing Thoughts

  • Jamie Carrager: Asked the question "how do you feel when your assistant manager goes to Manchester City.
  • Next Game - Liverpool vs Manchester United: Didn't even know about the next game, which was Liverpool vs Manchester United.