Can Jurgen Klopp turn Liverpool’s fortunes around?

Former-Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp looks to be a superb appointment for Liverpool

As we all now know former-Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp was officially confirmed as Liverpool boss on Thursday.

The appointment seems to be a very popular amongst fans and media alike, as the 48-year-old is one of the most highly-rated bosses in Europe.

Struggling

Klopp arrives at Liverpool with the Reds in 10^th position in the Premier League table, having claimed just one win their last nine games in all competitions.

The Reds last game was a 1-1 draw at arch-rivals Everton which turned out to be Brendan Rodgers last game in charge.

The result was not a terrible one, but it seems that the clubs owners Fenway Sports Group had made the decision to sack Rodgers prior to the game. The Northern Irishman’s sacking was not a surprise, but the timing was slightly surprising.

Effective

The appointment of Klopp as their new manager is a major coup for the club from Merseyside. The German boss is regarded as one of the best bosses in European football. His brand of ‘heavy metal’ football proved very effective in reviving the fortunes of an ailing BVB.

Not only was Klopp’s style of play exciting, but most importantly it won Dortmund games, and in a few glorious seasons silverware as well. Klopp’s Dortmund team broke the Bundesliga record for most goals scored and in his first title winning season they kept the most clean sheets in the Bundesliga.

Time

The fact that Dortmund had finished midtable the season before Klopp arrived and won the title just a few seasons’ later shows how well Klopp did with the German club.

In many ways Dortmund are quite similar to Liverpool in where they are at the moment. They are traditionally a big club in England, having won major silverware in the past, but are currently not a top team in their domestic league.

Dortmund was sleeping giants and Klopp woke them up in his own enigmatic way and maybe that is what Liverpool needs. They need somebody with a big character and personality to come in to shake things up.

Dortmund finished fifth and sixth in Klopp’s first two seasons, before winning consecutive Bundesliga titles. Klopp may need more time to achieve those sorts of feats in the Premier League, as Liverpool have more rivals for that top spot than Dortmund had.

However, for Klopp’s Dortmund to overthrow Bavarian giants Bayern Munich at the top of the German game was an achievement in itself.

Backroom

Liverpool started the process of removing the former-backroom staff yesterday prior to Klopp’s arrival. The likes of Gary McAllister and Sean O’Driscoll were told that they were losing their current jobs. McAllister has been given the role of club ambassador though.

Klopp has his own backroom staff. The 48-year-old is set to bring those backroom staff to Anfield, with former-assistant Zeljko Buvac and coach Peter Krawietz both reportedly heading for Merseyside. Buvac’s nickname is ‘the brain’ because of his tactical knowledge.

The Bosnian has been Klopp’s assistant since 2001 when the Liverpool boss started his managerial career at Mainz. The pair was team-mates at the club before they formed the managerial partnership. Buvac has proven to be a key person in Klopp’s managerial success so far.

Krawietz never played football professionally, but is another coach that Klopp has a lot of faith in. He is nicknamed ‘the eye’, as he provides Klopp with dossiers of information on his own team and opposition teams.

He is an expert video analyst. The 43-year-old also worked alongside Klopp and Buvac at Mainz as a chief scout, before following the pair to Dortmund.

Both the men are highly-regarded by Klopp, who himself is considered to have considerable tactical knowledge.

Potential

Klopp arrives at Liverpool when the Reds are in need of a major lift and change of direction. The German has the personality and seemingly the managerial acumen to restore Liverpool to their former-glories in the near future.

The club from Merseyside does have potential, just two seasons ago they finished second in the Premier League, albeit with the now departed Luis Suarez spearheading their attack.

Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool seems like a match made in heaven. The Reds are not currently miles away from the top four positions in the Premier League. In fact Liverpool are just three points away from fourth spot.

The Reds are currently odds of 12/5 to clinch a top four position and with Jurgen Klopp at the helm it is not impossible to see them achieving that objective this season.

The main aim for the future is of course to win the Premier League title and Klopp certainly seems to have the credentials for that aim.

However, he will need time and patience, but the German seems like a fantastic appointment. If he is given support then he could just do the unthinkable in the future and claim that elusive Premier League title for the Reds.

Can Jurgen Klopp turn Liverpool’s fortunes around?