Jürgen Klopp is the new Liverpool manager. The Anfield club confirmed the appointment of the former Borussia Dortmund coach after he signed an initial three-year contract worth £5m a year rising to £7m with bonuses making him the highest paid manager in Liverpool’s history.
Klopp put pen to paper on his Liverpool contract at the city’s Hope Street hotel in the company of the chairman, Tom Werner, and chief executive, Ian Ayre, on Thursday night shortly after arriving at John Lennon airport in a private plane from Dortmund. The final details of his deal had been agreed between club officials and representatives of the 48-year-old in Germany prior to his departure, and he will be unveiled at a 10am press conference at Anfield on Friday.
“Liverpool football club are delighted to announce Jürgen Klopp has been appointed as the club’s new manager,” said a statement. “The German coach has signed a deal to take the helm at the Reds and will be presented at a press conference at Anfield on Friday morning.”
The club kept the announcement brief but the arrival of the charismatic coach has had a major impact on Liverpool supporters and already led to the departures of four members of Brendan Rodgers’ backroom staff. The assistant manager, Sean O’Driscoll, first-team coach, Gary McAllister, head of performance, Glen Driscoll, and head of opposition analysis, Chris Davies, were all relieved of their duties on Thursday as Klopp’s authority was made immediately apparent.
After signing his contract, Klopp had dinner at Hope Street with Werner, Ayre and several members of Liverpool’s remaining coaching staff – the development coach, Pepijn Lijnders, goalkeeping coach John Achterberg, academy director Alex Inglethorpe, head physio Chris Morgan and first-team doctor Andy Massey.
An agreement on Klopp’s own coaching team was reached earlier this week and the two-times Bundesliga champion will be joined at Anfield by Zeljko Buvac and Peter Krawietz, his former assistant and analyst at Dortmund respectively.
Klopp’s appointment came only four days after Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool’s owner, sacked Rodgers amid concern over poor results and performances dating back several months. The Boston-based owner moved decisively to offer Klopp a contract following the removal of Rodgers on Sunday, though the former Mainz coach was acutely aware of the interest beforehand having been approached by FSG on two previous occasions.
The deal represents a significant coup for FSG, which has convinced the coveted Klopp to abandon his sabbatical from the game after four months despite Liverpool having no Champions League football to offer. FSG’s belief is that Rodgers under-performed with the resources at his disposal, however, and wholesale changes are not anticipated initially. Liverpool’s much-criticised transfer committee will also remain in place for the time being with Klopp content to delegate on player recruitment as he did at Dortmund.
Klopp has been linked with several high-profile positions since ending a successful seven-year spell at the Westfalenstadion last season but Liverpool’s was the first concrete offer to appeal.
The coach was frequently touted as Pep Guardiola’s potential successor at Bayern Munich next summer. But with uncertainty over whether Guardiola will extend his contract at the Allianz Arena, and whether Bayern regard Klopp as their preferred replacement, he accepted the challenge of reviving Liverpool’s fortunes. The club have won three of 11 games in all competitions this season although are only three points off fourth place in the Premier League.
Liverpool commenced a clear-out of Rodgers’ backroom team prior to Klopp’s appointment. O’Driscoll and McAllister only arrived at Anfield this summer after the former manager parted company with his long-time assistant Colin Pascoe and first-team coach Mike Marsh. Lijnders, promoted from the Liverpool academy to the first-team squad as part of Rodgers’ shake-up, has been retained having made a positive impression on the players. McAllister is, however, staying at Liverpool in an ambassadorial capacity. A statement confirmed: “McAllister will remain with the club, albeit in a different role, not connected to first-team duties. The Scot has accepted an ambassadorial position, which will allow the club to benefit from his strong connection and affinity with the supporters. The club would also like to take this opportunity to wish Sean, Glen and Chris every success in the future.”
