Jurgen Klopp loves being an underdog. Unfortunately for the Liverpool manager, he’s not an underdog anymore. He’s a winner.
You might assume that winning the Champions League, the Premier League after 30 years and generally restoring Liverpool to their former glory might make Jurgen Klopp happy. Instead, it seems to be making him increasingly irate.
Liverpool’s incredible success under Jurgen Klopp means that they are the favourites for everything. That mindset doesn’t seem to suit Klopp, and everyone’s affable, charismatic German is morphing into a crotchety, defensive grouch.
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To be fair to him, Liverpool’s difficult season isn’t his fault. No one could have predicted that his three best central defenders would miss most of the season. The inconsistent results and arising frustration are no surprise.
All top level managers are bad losers. They almost have to be to succeed at the elite level. What’s different about Klopp is that he’s a bad winner as well.
He made his name performing miracles, turning Bundesliga also-rans into hipster favourites. His two Bundesliga titles with Dortmund, fighting against the mighty Bayern Munich are the epitome of this.
The beginning of his Liverpool tenure was the same. Up against the seemingly unbeatable Manchester City, Liverpool dominated the Premier League to a greater extent than Pep Guardiola’s unprecedented, record-breaking champions.
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It’s not heavy metal football anymore. Klopp isn’t the alternative kid whose come of age and showing everybody what he’s made of. He’s it, he’s the zeitgeist. He’s trading barbs with Roy Keane on television.
Perhaps that thing, that underdog mentality, the sense of injustice – is what drives him forwards. Now that he has nothing left to prove, all that’s left is getting snarky with reporters.
