Jürgen Norbert Klopp
Jürgen Norbert Klopp born 16 June 1967) is a German FootballManager and former player who is the current Manager of Liverpool FC of England.
Klopp spent his entire 12-year playing career at Mainz 05, before going on to become their longest-serving manager from 2001 to 2008, during which time they achieved promotion to the Bundesliga. In 2008, Klopp joined Borussia Dortmund, leading them to back-to-back Bundesliga wins in 2011 and 2012, as well as the DFB-Pokal in 2012, the DFL-Supercup in 2008, 2013 and 2014, and their second appearance in a Champions League final in 2013. Klopp won the German Football Manager of the Year in 2011 and 2012, before leaving Dortmund in 2015 having also become their longest-serving manager. He became manager of Liverpool in October 2015.
Playing career
Mainz 05
Klopp played his entire senior career for Mainz 05, from 1989 to 2001, making him a one-club man. Originally a striker, Klopp began to play as a defender in 1995. He scored 52 league goals.
Management career
Mainz 05
Upon his retirement playing for 1 FSV Mainz 05, Klopp was appointed as the club's manager. He remained as manager for seven years, during which time he led the team to its first appearance in the Bundesliga, and qualification for the 2005–06 UEFA Cup. At the end of the 2006–07 season, Mainz 05 were relegated, but Klopp chose to remain with the club. However, due to the fact that they were not able to achieve promotion, he resigned at the end of the 2007–08 season. He finished with a record of 109 wins, 78 draws, and 83 losses.
Borussia Dortmund
In May 2008, Klopp was approached to become the new manager of Borussia Dortmund, eventually signing a two-year contract at the club, which had finished in a disappointing 13th place under previous manager Thomas Doll. In his first season in charge, Klopp guided Borussia Dortmund to win the T-Home Supercup, defeating German champions Bayern Munich.[3] Klopp took the club to a sixth-place finish in his first season in charge, and a fifth-place finish in the season after that, before leading the club to successive Bundesliga titles in the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons.
During the 2011–12 Bundesliga season, the 81 points accrued by Borussia Dortmund was the greatest points tally ever amassed in Bundesliga history and the 47 points earned in the second half of the season also set a new record. Borussia Dortmund's 25 league wins equalled Bayern Munich's 1972–73 milestone, while their 28-league match unbeaten sequence was the best ever recorded in a single German top-flight season. The record number of points (for the whole season and the second half of the season) and the record number of league wins set or equalled by Borussia Dortmund in the 2011–2012 season were broken by FC Bayern Munich in the 2012–2013 season. On 12 May 2012, Klopp made Borussia Dortmund history by sealing the club's first ever domestic double, by defeating Bayern Munich5–2 to win the DFB-Pokal. Klopp described the double as being "better than (he) could have imagined".
Borussia Dortmund's league form during the 2012–13 season was not as impressive as in the previous campaign, with Klopp insisting that his team would focus on the Champions League to make up for their disappointing run in that competition in the previous season. Klopp's team were drawn against Manchester City, Real Madrid and Ajax in the competition's group of death. However, they did not lose a game, topping the group with some impressive performances, especially against José Mourinho's Madrid side. Borussia Dortmund progressed all the way to the final, meeting Real Madrid again in the semi final stages of the competition. After an excellent result against them at home in the first leg, a 4–1 victory, a 2–0 loss meant Dortmund only narrowly progressed to the final. Dortmund lost the final 1–2 to Bayern Munich, with an 89th-minute goal from Arjen Robben.
In the beginning of the 2013–14 season, Klopp extended his contract until June 2018. Klopp received a fine of €10,000 on 17 March 2014 after getting ejected from a Bundesliga match against Borussia Mönchengladbach. The ejection was a result of "verbal attack" on the referee. Deniz Aytekin, who was the referee, stated that Klopp's "behavior was rude on more than one occasion." Borussia Dortmund vorstand chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke stated that "I have to support Jürgen Klopp 100 percent in this case" because he saw no reason for a fine and denied that Klopp insulted the fourth official.
In April 2015, Klopp announced that he would leave Borussia Dortmund at the end of the 2014–15 season to take a sabbatical. His final match in charge of the team was the 2015 DFB-Pokal Final, which Borussia Dortmund lost 3–1 against VfL Wolfsburg. He finished with a record of 179 wins, 69 draws, and 70 losses.
Liverpool
On 8 October 2015, Klopp agreed a three-year deal to become Liverpool manager, replacing Brendan Rodgers.
Media career
From 2005, Klopp appeared as a regular expert commentator on the German television networkZDF, giving his views on games of the German national football team. On 20 October 2006, he received the Deutscher Fernsehpreis in the category of best sports show. His term ended after UEFA Euro 2008. He was succeeded by Oliver Kahn. During the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, he worked with RTL alongside Günther Jauch.
Endorsements
Klopp's popularity is used in advertisements by, among others, Puma, Opel and the German cooperative banking group Volksbanken-Raiffeisenbanken. According to Horizont, trade magazine of German advertising industry and the business weekly Wirtschaftswoche, Klopp's role as "brand ambassador" for Opel successfully helped the struggling carmaker to increase sales.
Personal life
Klopp is married with two sons, one of whom played for Borussia Dortmund II before he retired due to injuries. In 1995, Klopp obtained a diploma in sports science at the Goethe University of Frankfurt, writing his thesis about walking.
Klopp is a Protestant Christian who frequently refers to his faith in public; in a number of interviews he has referred to the importance of Jesus in his life.