Lessons from Jurgen Klopp
Before last season's Champions League triumph with Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp hadn't experienced a major trophy win since 2012. Despite his relative lack of silverware, the 52-year-old is widely considered to be one of the world's best coaches. Klopp's impact on the game stretches beyond his list of honours. His ability to improve individuals and teams makes him an ideal role model for coaches across the globe. This article will identify some lessons we can take from football's "Normal One".
Preparing for management
The first three years of Klopp's coaching career were spent in Bundesliga 2. Mainz lacked the resources of a first division club, forcing him to undertake all football-related tasks. Speaking to DW kick off, he said that it was the ideal preparation for life in top-level management.
“In the very beginning at Mainz, I was responsible for absolutely everything around the football team. With Christian Heidel, the sporting director, we were the club. It was the best way to learn the job, you have to do everything and nobody is really watching.
What I did that time alone, now I have nearly 20 assistants for. I'm now really the manager of a big coaching staff. I can do that because I know what they are all doing because I did it by myself."
Leading with confidence
Observing Klopp in interviews and on the sideline, his confidence is obvious. However, his definition of what it means to be confident in a leadership role is interesting. While he recognises the qualities he brings to a club, he also knows his limitations, and doesn't try to hide them. (source: Liverpool.com)
"If I would expect from myself that I know everything, I couldn’t have confidence. I don’t expect that, I know that I’m good at a couple of things. My confidence is big enough that I can really let people grow next to me, It’s no problem. I need experts around me.
Have strong people around you with better knowledge in different departments than yourself. Don’t act like you know everything. Be ready to admit that you have no clue in the moment, but give me a couple of minutes and I will probably have a clue."
Team building
Since arriving at Anfield, Klopp has overseen some memorable comebacks. His Liverpool side fought back to secure a place in the 2015/16 Europa League semi-finals, despite needing three goals in the last half hour of their quarter-final second leg tie with Dortmund. More recently, they reached the Champions League final thanks to a dramatic turnaround against Barcelona, having lost the first leg 3-0. Speaking to De Volksrant, assistant manager Pepijn Linders highlighted the value that Klopp puts on creating team spirit.
"Jürgen creates a family. We always say: 30 per cent tactic, 70 per cent teambuilding,”
Improving the elite-level player
At Liverpool and Dortmund, Klopp has supported countless players in their transition from potential star to polished world-beater. As he sees it, coaching at the top is all about helping players to take the final step in their development. (source: DW Kick off)
“In this job now, there are only players with world-class potential. My job is to help them become world-class. They already know about 80% of football, but the last 20% can be really decisive and that’s my job.”
Signing the right personalities
Perhaps just as important as his coaching abilities, he is able to identify players with the desire and ambition required to fulfill their potential. Before making any final decision on a prospective signing, Klopp tries to gain as much insight into a player's psyche as possible. (source: DW Kick off)
“It’s too important that I only let my 'belly' speak. People trust me a lot and I cannot spend millions just thinking ‘it could work’. If you sign a player, you have to know as much as possible.
It’s easy to find a good football player, but to learn about him as a person is not so easy. Players are very often surprised that when I first meet them, we don’t talk at all about football.”
Creating the right atmosphere inside a club
Klopp believes that recruiting individuals who will fit well into the existing group is of critical importance. Generating an atmosphere conducive to sustainable success isn't, in his view, solely down to the manager. Each member of staff is responsible for deciding the mood within a club, including the players. (source: Liverpool.com)
“All of what we do in life is about relationships. When you enter a room, you have a little bit of responsibility for the mood in that room. As a football team, we have to work really close together.
Each player knows each name of each person who works at Melwood. It’s not just me who creates an atmosphere, each person in a room is responsible for that.”
Avoiding information overload
Klopp is recognised as one of the most tactically intelligent coaches in European football. However, he knows that giving his players too much information can hinder their performance. (source: Liverpool.com)
“I have a lot more information than what I give to the players. That’s because they have to play a football game and they have to play that with freedom.
When a new player is coming in I don’t give them any information. It’s like; let them play, let me learn about him, what he’s doing naturally, what we want to adjust, and what we want to stop him doing.”
Winning whilst trying to entertain
Further to the previous point, Klopp's system aims to strike a balance between organisation and freedom. He appreciates the creative talents at his disposal, while also recognising the need for structure and discipline. During his time at Anfield, he has helped Roberto Firmino to become one of most effective pressing forwards in the world, without robbing the Brazilian of his natural flair. (source: Channel 4)
“Our game is built on very, very good organisation. On the other hand, it must be very lively. Be brave, try something.
They are smart enough to know that you cannot win a football game only using your unbelievable skills. That makes no sense. Then you are like the Harlem Globe Trotters, and they don’t play competitive games any more for a reason. For us it’s about winning, plus entertaining.”
Keeping players motivated
Klopp also finds balance in his motivation techniques. The German enters the field after each game to dish out hugs, having spent the previous 90 minutes shouting and gritting his teeth ferociously from the touchline. He believes his role requires him to recognise when a player's motivation levels are dropping, before provoking some sort of response depending on the individual's personality. (source: Liverpool.com)
“I’m kind of the reserve tank for the boys. When I feel their energy level goes a bit down, I’m still there and can kick their butt or whatever they need in this moment. You always need some kind of response, I needed it as a player as well.”
Overcoming superior opponents
Along with guiding Mainz to 2nd division safety against the odds, Klopp's titles with Dortmund were victories for the underdog. German giants Bayern Munich had won the league in seven of the previous ten seasons, and have done so in each of the seven years since Dortmund's last triumph. (source: NBC Sports)
"You can win against better teams. You don't have to be the best, but you can win. Things like this, I love. You can say 'OK, I have no chance' or you can try it in a different way. In my opinion, football is the game where it's most easy to win against better teams."