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6 months ago
23
It was a chilly grey afternoon in October 2015 when Jurgen Klopp arrived in Liverpool, so it was perhaps fitting that cloudless blue skies and sunshine greeted Merseyside for his final game as Liverpool boss. Pathetic fallacy in a nutshell. He made this club feel alive again.
The streets around Anfield were festival like pre-match with the masses out in their shorts and sunglasses. As supporters from all around queued to take pictures with the various Klopp murals that now fill this city, the smoke of red flares that have become synonymous with Liverpool’s successes filtered through the air.
Outside The Kop, the famous Esso garage was packed to the rafters hours before kick-off. This was the mother of all farewell parties. For once, no one really cared about the football at this famous old ground.
On The Kop, the dozens of flags told their own story ‘Doubters. Believers. Conquerors.’ Three words that summed up what Klopp did in nine years here. ‘Danke Jurgen, you made the people happy,’ read another. A special mosaic around the ground simply read ‘Danke Jurgen. YNWA.’
The whole Anfield playbook came out with songs for the stars of Klopp’s tenure - both present and past. From the likes of Sadio Mane and Robert Firmino to Georginio Wijnaldum and of course, Divock Origi.
Jurgen Klopp roared in front of the adoring Kop for a final time on Sunday afternoon
Anfield was awash with flags from supporters who wished to stress their adoration for the German
Klopp arrived at the club in October 2015 during a particularly low ebb in their recent history
Klopp's name was sung for most of the game ahead of the short thanksgiving for him after the final whistle
There is another song, created in the 1980s that goes: ‘A team that plays the Liverpool way and wins the Championship in May.’
It was Klopp who let these fans sing that again when he led Liverpool to their first title in 30 years and fittingly, it provided the backdrop for Alexis Mac Allister’s goal. A lovely header finishing off a move that summed up the style of football that Klopp got his Liverpool team to play.
As the full time whistle neared, young kids from all around The Kop came down to the bottom to get the best view possible of the man their parents and grandparents will talk about for decades to come.
Only with the passage of time, will Klopp’s lasting legacy truly be determined.
In and around the Klopp love-in, every so often Anfield bellowed out into Bob Marley’s ‘Three Little Birds’, singing ‘Every little thing is gonna be alright.’
The thing is, this is Liverpool. They will compete again and they will almost certainly win again. But never will they see a man like Klopp again. At least in that, there was a mutual agreement amongst everyone.
So, will Liverpool and The Kop be alright without Klopp?
‘For whatever reason it doesn't feel like an end, just the start because I saw a football team today full of talent, belief, youth, creativity and desire,’ insisted Klopp. ‘This club is in a better moment than for a long time. Nobody tells you now to stop believing.
A number of first team players and staff also had the opportunity to bid farewell to Liverpool supporters on Sunday. Pictured (Assistant manager Pep Lijnders and defender Joel Matip)
Klopp implored supporters to channel their energy towards the incoming manager and team next season
'We have you - the superpower of world football,’ he added, while looking at The Kop. Enough said.
And then the entirety of the Liverpool squad stood together in front of The Kop just like Klopp made them do in December 2015 after a 2-2 draw against West Brom, two months after he arrived. People laughed then. No one in the footballing world was laughing now.
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