The door on Jurgen Klopp‘s nine year reign with Liverpool is coming to a close, with the German boss set to step down from his position as manager in the summer.
The charismatic manager who will be missed by all when he steps down has brought a level of passion, fun and charisma to the Premier League since he first arrived on English soil back in 2015.
Although known as a nice, happy-go-lucky guy off the pitch – the 56-year-old has been known to show a more hot-headed side when things aren’t going his way.
Liverpool’s FA Cup quarter-final clash against Manchester United on Sunday was the latest example of the adored Liverpool manager losing his head and spiralling into a full meltdown.
Here are six times Jurgen Klopp lost the plot as Liverpool manager.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp announced earlier this year he would be stepping away from football
The Reds boss is one of the best characters in football right now, thanks to his charisma and bravery to say whats on his mind
The German managers latest crazy moment came after Liverpool’s 4-3 loss to Man United when he walked out of an interview live on-air
Liverpool vs Man United – 2024 FA Cup
Liverpool’s Sunday FA Cup extra-time loss to Man United was the latest example of the Liverpool boss attempting but failing to keep the lid on his emotions.
Heading into the game Liverpool fans had high hopes Klopp’s side would breeze past Ten Hag’s side, further cementing their dreams of ending the Klopp era with a quadruple.
And in the 105′ minute it looked like the men from Merseyside were on track to complete this feat thanks to Harvey Elliot’s deflected strike.
However two goals from Manchester United in ten minutes overturned the outcome of the tie, and Klopp’s men were sent crashing out of the competition.
Klopp’s manic moment came after the game when he was questioned on his side’s lack of intensity in extra-time, something they have always been applauded for.
The journalist continued to question Klopp, asking if his side are maybe playing too many games which resulted in the German walking out of the live interview.
Before fully walking away, Klopp made a dig at the reporter saying ‘you are obviously not in great shape and I have no nerves for you’.
Back in 2020, straight off the back of Liverpool winning their first Premier League title in 30 years, Klopp’s men hosted Arsenal at Anfield.
After going 1-0 down thanks to an Alexander Lacazette strike, Liverpool recovered to register a 3-1 win.
Speaking to the Sky Sports studio after the game, Klopp opened his conversation with the studio by attacking pundit Roy Keane.
Klopp quizzed the panel after overhearing Keane’s comment whilst he was waiting to be interviewed.
‘Did Mr Keane say it was a sloppy performance? Maybe he is speaking about another game. Cannot be this game, sorry, nothing was sloppy’.
Feeling the full wrath of Klopp, Keane was quick to clarify what he meant by his comment, insisting he was largely praising Klopp’s men not insulting them.
‘I’m not sure you heard me correctly there’ Keane said with Klopp immediately responding, saying he would “100 percent” go back and listen to all of Keane’s insight before drawing a conclusion.
Two run-ins with Des Kelly
Round One
One of Klopp’s most high-profile exchanges with an interviewer came in Liverpool’s 2020 Premier League game against Brighton in November when an injury hit Liverpool faced the realisation that their title defence was slipping away after suffering a 2-1 defeat.
Following the game Klopp fired aim at the broadcasters for their role in imposing a jam-packed fixture schedule for the games top sides.
After criticising BT Sport for their role in making the fixture a 12:30pm kick-off time, interviewer Des Kelly stood his ground, firing back with his own strong willed comments, making for an enthralling interview.
‘Well you work for them,’ Klopp told Kelly, clearly furious with BT Sport. ‘Ask [former Sheffield United boss] Chris Wilder how we can work on that. I don’t know how often I have to say it, but you pick the 12.30 kick-offs.’
The row erupted further, ticking off Klopp in the process when Kelly suggested Klopp was ‘firing at the wrong target’, stating the fact that all 20 Premier League clubs agreed to the TV slots.
‘I’m sure 100 per cent you will get praise from this interview for getting it stuck on him,’ Klopp said as the interview wrapped up.
‘What I want to say is I only go for broadcasters because of the Wednesday to Saturday 12.30.’
This would be the first of two clashes between Klopp and Kelly over the TV schedule.
Round Two
Do you get Deja-Vu?
After their infamous run-in during the 2020-21 season, Kelly and Klopp went for round two, the very next season – what sparked it? – you guessed it 12:30pm Saturday kick-offs.
Klopp took aim at Kelly, the broadcasters and the 12:30pm slot once more when his sides trip to Vicarage Road to face Watford was selected as their 12:30pm kick-off.
In the tense interview, Klopp was frustrated by the absences of Fabinho and Alisson Becker due to quarantining rules after playing for Brazil in the international break, insisting that the pair would have been available had it not been for the early kick off.
‘Because we play at 12.30pm there was no chance that they’d play and that’s why we thought then to send them (to Spain),’ he said.
‘If we would have played tonight they would be here and we would have given it a try, but we play at 12.30pm and there was no chance. I think it was the broadcaster’s (BT) idea to have us at 12.30pm.’
Kelly informed Klopp that BT had agreed for the game to be moved to a later kick-off time, but Watford refused to allow Liverpool the change.
But Klopp responded: ‘If you wouldn’t have set (the game for 12.30pm) we wouldn’t have had to apply (to change it).
‘Thank you very much for your help again, really thank you very much.’
Klopp and Kelly clashed once more over the 12:30pm Saturday kick-off time back in 2021
Everton are awarded a penalty
Klopp has been pretty consistent throughout his career, showing a willingness to go into battle with reporters when he thinks their questions are foolish or provoking.
Back in 2017, only Klopp’s second full season in charge with Liverpool, Klopp found himself enthralled in a fiery interaction with Sky Sport’s Patrick Davison after his side drew 1-1 with rivals Everton, following a controversial penalty.
After the game when Davison asked Klopp for his opinion on Dejan Lovren’s challenge on Dominic Calvert-Lewin which earned Everton the penalty, Klopp voiced that he didn’t think it was a foul.
Having already explained himself, Davison pushed for a little more, resulting in Klopp asking the reporter of his view on the penalty.
‘Okay, if you want my opinion – it doesn’t matter – I’d say soft…but it is a penalty,’ Davison said.
Klopp then burst into hysterics, saying: ‘Ha ha ha. Well, then we can stop the interview because I only want to speak with people that have a little bit of understanding of football.’
Davison explained that Sky’s pundits also believed that the penalty decision was the right call, to which Klopp responded: ‘Oh, then sorry, I am wrong, you are all right. When all the other people are right, then I must be wrong. Right?’
Wayne Rooney pulled Everton back level from the penalty spot after a controversial Dejan Lovren challenge on Dominic Calvert-Lewin was awarded as a penalty
Calls out German translator
Never one to be miss interpreted, Klopp went on a full-blown rant in Liverpool’s pre-match press conference for their 2019 Champions League clash against RB Slazburg as the translator implied that the Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson said the team ‘would go easy’ in the clash.
Quite the contrary, Henderson actually said ‘that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy.’ When he was asked about Liverpool’s previous success in deciding group games.
Klopp was quick to call out the German translator for his ‘s***’ translation.
‘It’s s*** when next to the translator sits a coach who speaks German. The question was if the Champions League title from the last year helps us because we have always delivered in situations like this’ Klopp said.
‘He [Henderson] doesn’t talk about going easy in this game. We are aware of this challenge. He is speaking about all this normal stuff. You should really listen. Otherwise, I can do it by myself. It’s not too difficult.’
Following the game, where Liverpool came out 2-0 winners, Klopp apologised to the translator.
AFCON the ‘little tournament’
Klopp for years had to witness arguably his two best players Sadio Mane and Mo Salah jet off to Africa each January for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Which would inevitably leave him without his two most biggest threats in front of goal for several weeks.
The Reds boss managed to strike a nerve with an African journalist and many African Cup of Nations Fans when he labelled the tournament ‘little’.
He refused to apologise for his choice of wording, claiming instead that his words were twisted.
His wording was as follows…
Every January Liverpool had to do without their dynamic scoring duo because of AFCON
‘In January, there’s a little tournament in Africa, I just want to say, and I think Asia is playing games, too – South America as well, great, can’t wait.’
Shortly after making the comment, Klopp was informed that many took offence to his comment including the players, fans, people and continent of Africa – but the Liverpool boss simply wasn’t having any of it.
He replied: “I didn’t mean it like that. I don’t know why you understand it like that.
“It’s not even close to the idea in my mind that I want to talk about AFCON as a little tournament, or the continent of Africa like a little continent, not at all. What I meant is, because people said, and if you watch the full press conference, if you wanted to understand it in the right way you could have understood it in the right way.”
The German went on to say, “I’m not a native speaker, but if you want to understand me wrong you can do that all the time. I know that I would never think like this. I never understand why you thought like this to be honest, but that’s really not OK, because I would never do that, but that’s it now.”
