One of the most enthusiastic coaches in the world, Jürgen Klopp’s passion is infectious. The German coach has also earned his fair share of successes over the years managing the sides Mainz 05 and Borussia Dortmund before winning it all at Liverpool. Let’s take a look at some of Klopp’s most important wins to date.
Liverpool, Champions League, 2018/19
“I am probably the world record holder in winning semi-finals. I could write a book about that but no one would buy it,” said Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp in a press conference a day before the 2019 Champions League final.
Klopp had lost six straight major finals since Dortmund’s 2012 German Cup victory before the Reds triumph against Tottenham.
Mo Salah scored the game’s first goal at the 2-minute mark after Moussa Sissoko’s handball 22 seconds into the match. Salah’s goal was the second-fastest goal in Champions League final history — Paulo Maldini netted 50 seconds into the 2005 final. The game finished 2 nil to the Reds.
Liverpool’s 6th Champions League/European Cup title broke a tie for the 3rd-most all-time, completing Klopp’s fairytale season. After the match, the German said that winning the Champions League is the “best night of our professional lives.”
Liverpool, Premier League, 2019/20
After winning the 2019 Champions League, Liverpool felt destined to prove their primacy back in the Premier League. But just as the Reds were six points from wrapping up their first title in three decades, the Coronavirus outbreak postponed the rest of the season.
After a 3-month shutdown, the EPL returned, and Liverpool’s ‘mentality monsters’ finished the season as dominant as they started. The Reds lost just three games during the campaign and came five games short of breaking Arsenal’s 49-game EPL unbeaten streak.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_UjAuGmmaI
Borussia Dortmund, Bundesliga Title, 2010-2011
With Jürgen Klopp taking over the coaching responsibilities for Borussia Dortmund in 2008, the team’s performances and table standings gradually improved. During the 2010-2011 season, the club won the league for the first time since 2001.
Borussia Dortmund, Bundesliga Title, 2011-2012
Borussia Dortmund was once again in the driver’s seat for the 2011-12 season, picking up on their league successes the previous year. They won the league again, setting a record for most points (81) set by a German club team in a session. Klopp also led the team to its first double with a 5-2 victory over Bayern Munich in the DFB-Pokal final.
Borussia Dortmund, DFB-Pokal in 2012
In another piece of silverware for the German, Klopp defeated Bayern Munich 5 – 2 for the DFB-Pokal title in 2012. The cup and league victories became the club’s first ever domestic double.
Borussia Dortmund, Champions League Runner-up 2012-13
In 2013, Borussia Dortmund faced off against domestic rivals Bayern Munich in all-German Champions League final. BVB lost 2-1 to finish as runner-up.
Borussia Dortmund, DFB-Pokal in 2015
In Klopp’s last season with Dortmund, he took the squad to their second DFB-Pokal final. Despite the team’s efforts in their second consecutive finals appearance, Dortmund fell to VfL Wolfsburg 3-1.
Liverpool, Europa League Runners-up 2015-16
In his first year as coach of Liverpool, Klopp led the team UEFA Europa League final, beating Manchester United and his old squad Borussia Dortmund along the way. Against BVB, Liverpool came back at halftime in the second leg from a 3-1 deficit to win 4-3. After beating Villareal 3-1 in the semi-finals, Liverpool lost to Sevilla in the final match.
Liverpool, Champions League runner-up: 2017–18
Having finished fourth in the Premiership in the 2016-17 season, Klopp’s Liverpool qualified for the Champions League the following year. In a fantastic run, the Reds went all the way to the finals to match up against none other than Zidane Real Madrid squad. After a strong start in the early minutes of the game, Real eventually pulled ahead off an unbelievable bicycle from Gareth Bale.
Mainz 05 Bundesliga advancement
In Klopp’s earlier years as coach, he managed his former club side Mainz 05. In his seven years with the club as head coach, he led the team into the Bundesliga — no small feat.
🗓️ 20 years to the day after his coaching career began with a win for Mainz…
Jûrgen Klopp oversees a win for Liverpool. 👌 #UCL pic.twitter.com/Fq6u274aB1
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) February 28, 2021
Borussia Dortmund, German Super Cups, 2013 & 2014
During his seven-year tenure at Borussia Dortmund, Jurgen Klopp also won the one-off football match DFL-Supercup in 2013 and 2014, the former over rivals Bayern Munich.
Liverpool vs. Roma, 2018 Champions League Semifinal
In what was an exciting semifinal between Liverpool and Roma, the first leg saw Liverpool scream ahead of Roma 5-2 with a braze from both Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino. The second leg saw Roma win 4-2, but Liverpool took it away on aggregate 7-6 to get into the Champions League finals.
Liverpool vs. Dortmund, Europe League Quarterfinals 2017
In one of Klopp’s most thrilling comebacks in his short tenure as Liverpool coach, his side came back against his old team Dortmund in the Europa League semi-finals. With Liverpool needing three goals with 25 minutes left, they got one from Coutinho, Sakho, and a game-winner from Lovren to win 5-4 on aggregate and advance to the semi-finals.
