Despite constantly professing his English is not always up to scratch, Jurgen Klopp knows how to string words together to make the biggest impact – whether it be emotional, for laughs or inspiration.
There is something to be said about a person who can read the room and deliver the words we either want to or need to hear, and Klopp had the ability long before he arrived at Anfield.
Charismatic and captivating, the German has always been able to find the right words for any moment, whether it be in times of triumph or disappointment.
It takes a special character to do so, and we’ve been privileged for nearly nine years with a front-row seat to his magic off the pitch.
Without further ado, here are some of Klopp’s best quotes as Liverpool manager:
If there was a quote that sums up how Klopp approaches football, it’s this:
“You can fall down and then you must stand up. Only silly idiots stay on the floor. We will strike back, 100 percent.” – Said after 2016 League Cup final defeat
From the off, he made it clear what fans could expect from his side moving forward:
“I ask that you believe in this team and believe that together we can achieve great things.
“The team will go out and battle for you and look to represent you, the club and the city in how we approach our work: this is my commitment.”
And it was always a perfect match for Klopp, just as it was for Liverpool:
“I heard from my agent that Liverpool is interested and I felt immediately, ‘Oh God’, it’s like when I met my wife – I saw her and thought OK, I marry her and it was like that with the club.
“It felt right from the first moment.”
We’ve all seen this one after that night against Barcelona, and it will stand the test of time:
“I said to the boys, ‘I think it’s impossible but because it’s you we have a chance.’ And we believed in this chance.
“I don’t know how the boys did it. These boys are f***ing mentality giants, it’s unbelievable.”
And after this wild journey we’ve been on, let’s not forget he’s just the ‘Normal One’:
“I don’t want to describe myself. I’m a totally normal guy. I came from the Black Forest. I’m the ‘Normal One’.”
And normal he may be, but he’s always been incredibly resourceful when it comes to a new jingle:
“Let’s talk about six, baby, let’s talk about you and me, let’s talk about all the good things and all the bad things there may be.”
When it comes to humour, Klopp has always had a knack for that too – take this example after his glasses were broken in that dramatic 5-4 win over Norwich:
“I usually have a second pair of glasses but I can’t find them because it’s hard to find glasses without glasses!”
After Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain‘s serious knee injury in 2018, he came out with this great one-liner:
“I told him already we will wait for him like a good wife when her man is in prison.”
When Alberto Moreno‘s goal was ruled offside against Newcastle, he had this to say about the linesman, in typical Klopp fashion:
“Because we weren’t good enough, the linesman thought, ‘You don’t make a world-class goal if you play this shit so [you don’t get the goal]!”
His first press conference as Liverpool manager was full of gems, and none more so than this one:
“You have to change from a doubter to a believer. We have to start together new and then we will see what will happen this year.”
The weight of Liverpool’s history had been a heavy burden, but Klopp was quick to change that:
“All this time people try to get better to improve and to take the next title. History is only the base for us. But you’re not allowed to carry around your big history with you in a backpack.”
And, thankfully, there has never been a need to head to Switzerland!:
“If we sit here in four years, I think we win one title. If I don’t win the next one, maybe it will have to be in Switzerland!”
If that’s a quote to live by, it’s this one. Said before Liverpool’s clash against Barcelona, when the Reds needed to overturn a three-goal deficit:
“That is the plan: just try. If we can do it, wonderful. If not, then fail in the most beautiful way.”
When Liverpool sold Philippe Coutinho in 2018, Klopp offered a striking quote that will stand the test of time:
“You cannot transfer the heart and soul of Liverpool Football Club, although I am sure there are many clubs who would like to buy it.”
Klopp’s Liverpool did it their way:
“We created our own story and history and didn’t try to do what our wonderful dads and grandfathers did with this club.”
Has a truer word ever been spoken:
“If you had Wikipedia or Google and put in ‘European nights’ the answer must be: Anfield.”
It doesn’t always feel this way, but Jurgen, as ever, hit the nail on the head:
“I’ve said before that football always seems the most important of the least important things.”
The time and investment he gave to the academy means Klopp has come very close to achieving ‘the dream’:
“The dream is to have a team full of ‘Scousers’. What we want to be is the sport for everybody with a Scouse soul.”
On his farewell tour, his penultimate home game, he gifted us with this superb quote:
“This is a very, very special club. I didn’t make them (the fans) believe, I reminded them that it helps when you believe.”
And it is perhaps right for us to finish on this note, with words that came during the 2022 trophy parade that left Klopp mesmerised by the overwhelming support:
“This is the best club in the world, don’t care what other people think.”
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