Jürgen Klopp’s leadership tactics

I support Tottenham Hotspur; not an easy ride I can tell you. But it gives me a fairly objective viewpoint for observing Jürgen Klopp, the much feted German football coach who yesterday managed Liverpool FC for the last time. I say ‘objective’ because there is no particular animosity between my club and Liverpool and because Liverpool supporters get well, a little doe-eyed when talking about ‘Saint Jurgen’ – perhaps understandably.

For non-football people you don’t need the details except to say Liverpool’s heyday of success was in the 1970s and 1980s. Prior to Klopp’s arrival the last time they were champions of England was in the 1989-90 season. In his time in charge he has undoubtedly revived this special football club into a football powerhouse again and won the Premier League title in 2019-20. But in a way, the statistics really don’t tell the story.

Jürgen Klopp is a big man in every sense. The force of his character and personality have imprinted themselves on the club, the city and more widely. He is a charismatic and kind man with more than a hint of ruthlessness too (I have seen this first hand from my seat behind the visiting team area at Spurs stadium!) He is an exceptional leader who demonstrates some very important lessons for anyone who wants to lead well. From many possibilities, I have picked these five lessons, with a little help from a Guardian report that chronicled Liverpool's first modern Premier League title in 2020 (link at the bottom).

1.????? He treats people as people. His relationship with his players is more than just ‘business’. He is reminded of a player’s birthday in order to congratulate them on the day, usually in front of their teammates on the training pitch. He is also deeply interested in anything that impacts any of his staff and squad, such as family illness, and will personally support them if he can.

2.????? He has high standards and expects others to meet them. Guardian reporter Andy Hunter picked up on Klopp's fastidious and sometimes relentless nature; "To Klopp the training ground is sacred. Respecting Melwood as a place of work is his absolute rule. There is no leeway on that instruction, a point he enforced by banning impromptu visits from wives and partners, agents and hangers-on as soon as he arrived." The team comes first and there is no special treatment for star names.

3.????? He embraces specialists. “You cannot have enough specialists around you,” he said when explaining the appointment of a throw-in coach in 2018. “I must always be the guy who makes the decisions on when we use all these specialists, but you cannot have enough.”

4.????? He has a clear strategy and tactics for winning. He calls his own tactics ‘heavy metal football’. It demands a whole team effort with exceptionally high levels of concentration, organisation, speed and flair. Klopp teams pressure their opponents into making a mistake high up the pitch and then, rapidly, as in the blink of an eye, regain possession and score a goal without giving the rival players the time to recover.

5.????? He creates belief in his people. In an interview at Anfield yesterday he said “People told me that I turned them from doubter into believer. That’s not true. Believing is an active act, you have to do it yourself. I just said we have to, you did it.”

As Jonathan Wilson, the Guardian journalist says, most careers in football management end in failure. Jurgen is still loved after eight and a half years, with the entire stadium rising in adulation. If this isn’t success, success may not be worth having.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/may/19/jurgen-klopp-liverpool-anfield-elite

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/jun/26/trust-patience-and-hard-work-how-jurgen-klopp-transformed-liverpool