On Friday, 26th of January, 2024, Liverpool announced that their manager Jurgen Klopp is to step down from the role at the end of the 2023/24 season, saying he is “running out of energy”. In this light, thinking in retrospect could make one ask how long it did take Klopp to win a trophy at Liverpool.
Go further and ask, “Will you be patient with him until he wins his first trophy?”
We are going to guess that a lot of you said yes to the second question. And we will also guess that you do not remember how long it took Klopp to win his first trophy at Liverpool. That small piece of information is very necessary in this discourse because of the nature of the game today.
Managers at top clubs are under immense pressure to succeed and having an extended period without trophies sounds like a disaster. So let us find out how long it was before Klopp laid hands on Silverware at Liverpool.
7 Years of Famine
Klopp arrived in Merseyside in October 2015. He was a mid-season hire after the sacking of Brendan Rodgers. The vibes were immaculate and the energy after his appointment was overwhelmingly positive. However, trophies never came. The year he was appointed, he lost a League Cup and a Europa League Final in 2016, before losing a UEFA Champions League final in 2018.
He didn’t win a trophy until 2019 when he won the Champions League against fellow English side Tottenham Hotspurs. If we take away the three months, he had in 2015, it took Jurgen 3 years to deliver silverware.
Now, ask yourself again, would you be willing to give a manager 3 trophyless seasons at a top club such as Liverpool?
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Light at The End of The Tunnel
Before you answer that, I want you to consider why Klopp had a lot of goodwill. His first three years, albeit trophyless were riddled with incredible moments.
We all remember the 4-3 win over Manchester City, the 5-2 aggregate score against Roma in the Champions League semifinal, the 4-0 against Arsenal, and my favourite, the 4-3 comeback against his former side Borussia Dortmund.
Plus, his style of play and the consistent improvement meant the fans stayed on his side. It took a long time but we reckon Liverpool fans would do it all again if they could. Klopp went on to win more trophies after that Champions League win, including a Premier League, an FA Cup, and a League Cup. The latter two came at the expense of Chelsea.
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Conclusion
All in all, it took Klopp 3 years, and 3 months to win a trophy at Liverpool. However, in the same period, Liverpool made some remarkable progress compared to compared to Brendan Rogers’s reign.
Some managers are worth giving time to build their team, but clubs have to make sure they aren’t backing the wrong manager.
Liverpool’s trust in Jurgen Klopp paid off. Could he even win more trophies before he leaves? Let’s wait and see.
