It was Valentine’s Day, but I didn’t feel the love. We arrived in Porto that morning and it hadn’t stopped raining since. And it was heavy, brutal rain, the kind of rain that soaks you, leaves you all wet and really irritated.
So yeah, my mood wasn’t good when we entered the Estádio do Dragão around 7pm, and all I really wanted to do was find my seat, watch the game, see us win and go back to our hotel. But then, somewhat ironically, I made the decision to buy a bottle of water and along the way I saw something that totally cheered me up. Standing in a circle was a group of young boys, as soaked as I was, but bouncing as they bellowed the same chant over and over again.
“…conquered all of Europe…Paris to Turkey, won the damned lot…Bob Paisley and…Fields of Anfield Road…and we’re from Liverpool!”
I couldn’t quite make out the words, but they were fascinating stuff, which prompted me to ask one of the young boys what he was singing. “It is the Allez, Allez, Allez song,” he replied. “It’s fucking boss.”
I have no idea if Porto away in the last 16 of the 2017/18 Champions League was the first time Liverpool fans had fouled out Allez, Allez, Allez (we won 5-0, by the way) but I know it was the first time I heard it, and of all the chants and songs that have come to define the Jürgen Klopp era, it is undeniably my favorite. Partly because, yes, it rules, and partly because it perfectly captures the hope, optimism, faith, and defiance that have characterized Redness over the past eight and a bit years. Those qualities have been there all along, and largely because of him. The boss.
And now he’s leaving. Not yet, but soon I’ll be devastated. The news came out of nowhere and landed like a punch in the stomach and a poke in the eye, leaving me wounded and on the verge of tears. Some may scoff at such a response, especially from a man in his early forties who honestly should have more important things in his life to get worked up about, but you can’t help how you feel and few have me better feeling than the big one. German with the big grin who made a big announcement on an otherwise quiet Friday morning.
“I am the normal one,” said Klopp as he walked into Anfield in October 2015, but little of what followed was normal, especially for supporters like me who are too young to remember the glory days of the 1970s and 1980s. Don’t get me wrong, there have been great eras in the 35 years I’ve been following the team – the swaggering mavericks of Roy Evans, the three-time winners of Gérard Houllier, the miracle workers of Rafael Benítez – but none have lasted this long and was as successful as this one. As the song says, we’ve won a lot, but more than that we’ve done it with a group of players who have continually excited us under a manager who has continually inspired us.
He has done this through his talents as a coach, but also, and perhaps even more deeply, through his connection with the fan base. Klopp has always understood that we need a strong emotional bond with our team, because he himself has strong emotional bonds and used them as a powerful unifying force from the beginning. Hence his mission to ‘turn doubters into believers’ after taking charge of a club that was essentially destroyed after Brendan Rodgers last season in charge and immediately focused on reviving the people in the stands. to make people on the field feel it. Outsiders mocked the celebration for the Kop after the 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion in December 2015, but it had a purpose and it worked. We were completely on board again and, boy, what a ride it has been since then.
Liverpool have become a force again and for those of us lucky enough to be able to follow the team in real life, the experience has been something different, especially in the Champions League. I honestly didn’t think the Benítez years could be topped when it came to the atmosphere at European Anfield, but in recent years, standing in block 305 high up in the Kop, I’ve been part of some of my favorite nights of all times in that place. Raw occasions, especially in those early Klopp days, fueled by a truly raw team. The 3-0 win over Manchester City in April 2018, when things went practically wild around me, remains a highlight, and then there was the 4-0 win over Barcelona in May 2019. Even now it’s impossible to fully capture the magic of that to understand. sultry, barren evening.
There have also been trips: Moscow, Munich, Milan, Rome, Kiev, Belgrade, Salzburg… even rain-affected Porto; I enjoyed them all, with the highlight undoubtedly being Madrid 2019, when I stood behind the goal at the Estadio Metropolitano, where Divock Origi scored to seal our sixth European Cup, and felt a wave of euphoria that bordered on the otherworldly.
And what made all those occasions particularly special was that I shared them with my friends, each of us collectively shaping and creating some of the happiest moments of our lives. It speaks to the unity Klopp has fostered in the fanbase, that sense of a hugely joyful, shared experience. I saw it again on Wednesday night at Fulham: an away game as one, singing our songs, singing our chants and cheering the boys on to another cup final under our beloved, fist-pumping leader. None of us knew then what, unfortunately, we all know now.
Related: Jürgen Klopp will leave a void in Liverpool: at the club and the city | Paul MacInnes
Klopp’s decision to walk away two years before the end of a contract he signed just 21 months ago is not only a shock but also curious. The feeling lingers that something else has happened, something yet to be revealed. Or maybe it’s just, as Klopp put it, that he’s “running out of energy” and unable to keep doing this job “again and again and again and again.” In that respect, the bad parts of his time at Liverpool – the heartbreaking title losses to City on either side of the title he did win, the Covid season, last season… Paris – may have caught up with him too. It hurt us all, probably including him.
What is certain is that Klopp will leave in four months as a real great. He hasn’t been perfect and has undoubtedly made mistakes both on and off the pitch, but his legacy is incredible and what is clearly important to him – or as he put it: “super, super, super important” – is that he will leave after laying the foundation for more success through a new energetic team full of promising young talent. Klopp’s contribution also means they can prepare in a state-of-the-art training center and play in a stadium that is still undergoing a striking modernization, while retaining its distinct sense of history.
For now, the focus is on the rest of the season and beating Liverpool in the four competitions they participate in to give their manager a perfect farewell. As a supporter, I will do everything I can to make that possible; it’s the least I can do. Just under seven years ago, I was going through a very difficult time – basically major depression – and there were times when I thought I wouldn’t get through it. But I did, largely because of the love and support of my family and friends, but also because of the great joy I got from watching my football team play. Many people contributed to this, but none more so than the man in charge.
Thanks for everything, Jürgen.