“I feel like when Bill Shankly left, I’m devastated,” Ken Buckley, who has been a Liverpool season ticket holder for 50 years, says of Jurgen Klopp’s impending departure. “It’s hard to take, it really is. “It’s like losing a family member.”
Buckley stands in front of a mural of Klopp lifting the Champions League, one of seven major trophies won under German management. Fans flocked to pose for photos in front of their hero to remember the impact their hero had on the club. A pilgrim wears a hoodie that reads “Thank you Klopp” as a tribute. While Steve Gerrard was once the face of the club, it is now Klopp who has become the symbol of everything the club stands for; This explains the number of limbs showing off the tattoo on his face.
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Parents were making sure their children had their photos taken next to a grizzled collage of their heroes, who helped make the last generation only known for success. People of all ages were doing their best to show the love for their living legend. There was no shortage of flattened cardboard boxes at Anfield, as children displayed makeshift signs of affection adorned with loving hearts.
Stalls outside the ground were selling Klopp merchandise briskly. While the obligatory pre-match shout of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” was greeted with stretched scarves bearing Klopp’s picture, the manager took it all in and produced a smile when it was over – because he will miss the atmosphere as much as the fans. As the post-match serenade emphasized.
More fans than ever were waiting for Klopp at the entrance to the players’ car park. Fans often want to see their heroes on the pitch, but those in attack know the chance to appreciate the transformation that has taken place at Anfield over the last nine years will be limited.
When he arrived, Klopp wanted to establish a connection with the fan base after a barren period in which the trophy cabinet accumulated more dust than the silverware, but those days are behind Liverpool. They still have a chance to win four competitions with their heavy-metal football before Klopp leaves for a quieter life. “He said, ‘I want to take the skeptics out of the believers,’ and that was the beginning of his interaction with us,” Buckley says. “There are managers like Pep who do a good job. [Guardiola]But he doesn’t have the same connection with the fans as Klopp does. We love it.”
Even in the stands, let alone patrolling the touchline, can drain your energy. Klopp lives every moment on the pitch and he did the same against Norwich; He was prepared to question the fourth official when he felt Liverpool’s decision had gone wrong in a relatively routine FA Cup win against a team in the league below. The Anfield sidelines have witnessed some of Klopp’s most memorable moments, from running to celebrate important goals to pulling a hamstring to protest at referees, but Sunday was a quiet one by his standards.
Fans love his attitude, he feels the ups and downs like the 54,000 people around him. Fans will cherish every moment they can with Klopp as his unique style is unlikely to be copied by any successor. “I just want to continue what we’re doing, win a few trophies,” says Buckley. “If we don’t, it’s not for lack of trying; We have so many injuries, people forget that. I understand why you left because of the intensity; Moreover, he reveals the same energy not only here, but also in Mainz and Borussia Dortmund. His man management made fans believe in him. I love him.”
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What fascinates Klopp among fans is much more than success on the pitch. Displaced by Manchester United, Klopp led them back into the Premier League’s elite and won the title for the first time in 30 years amid a pandemic in the 2019-20 season. “My biggest regret was that I couldn’t be here to see him lift the league,” Buckley says. “I’ve been a season ticket holder for 50 years and that’s my biggest regret, not losing the finals or anything like that, but seeing us lift the trophy in front of a packed Anfield after all these years.”
This is one of the few regrets of Klopp’s reign; One of the fans hoped that this situation would continue in the coming years, even after the revival of the team. His departure creates a rare sense of uncertainty after years of stability, but Klopp has made the club attractive to players, fans and many senior managers. It’s not how they found a club that matters, it’s how they leave that club, and Klopp has created a juggernaut. He will leave behind a young and energetic staff and will offer someone the opportunity to build on his success.
“There will be a statue after he’s gone, they’ll start working on it, and it should be next to Shankly because that’s the level of impact it has,” Buckley says. Liverpool believe once again and that is an incredible legacy.