‘Decent manager? Yes. Legend? No’
Football fans have been claiming that Jürgen Klopp is not a Premier League legend following the news that he will be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season.
On Friday, the German manager made the shock announcement that he would be stepping down as the Reds’ boss after nine years in charge.
The news prompted an outpouring of emotion from Liverpool fans, with Klopp widely accepted as one of their greatest ever managers.
But rival fans have been questioning whether the 56-year-old has achieved enough to be classed as a Premier League legend alongside managers such as Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.
The basis for their argument is that in his eight seasons so far at the club, Klopp has only guided Liverpool to one Premier League title.
Taking to social media, one person wrote: “You lot calling Klopp a ‘legend’, it’s massively diluting what a legend is, 10 years and he’s ‘tired’…boo hoo!
“He’s not a legend when you look at managers who’ve stuck to the job longer and won more trophies too. Decent manager? Yes Legend? No!”
Comparing Klopp to legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, another argued he needed to “stick around for another 15 years to come close to the same status.”
A third even suggested the former Dortmund manager didn’t count as a Liverpool great, let alone a Premier League one.
After pointing out that Klopp had only win one Champions League and a league title in eight years, they wrote: “He is no Liverpool great, a cult hero but no legend in my opinion.”
And someone else wrote: “Jurgen Klopp spent over 1 billion to win ONE Premier League title that nobody witnessed in person.
“Claudio Ranieri won the PL title on a shoestring budget with a team that was 5000/1 to win it. Alex Ferguson won 13 PL titles in 21 years.
“Klopp is by no means a great manager.”
Of course, to base Klopp’s legacy at Anfield purely on league titles won would be to ignore everything else he achieved at Liverpool.
Klopp was appointed as Liverpool boss on October 8, 2015 and will go down as one of the most successful managers in the club’s history.
In his nine-year reign, the German won the UEFA Champions League, Premier League, FIFA Club World Cup, FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Super Cup, as well as the FA Community Shield under his guidance.
His Liverpool side have also racked up the second and fourth highest points totals for a single season in Premier League history (99 points in 2019-20 and 97 points in 2018-19).
Related links:
Naby Keita’s emotional reaction to hearing Jurgen Klopp is leaving Liverpool
Gabby Agbonlahor says Nemanja Vidic is ‘most overrated centre-back’ in Premier League history
Jurgen Klopp in tears after beautiful tribute from Liverpool fans 57 seconds into game
Tickets to Klopp’s final game are being sold for £24,480
