There wasn’t a dry eye in the house yesterday at Anfield as Liverpool brought down the curtain on what was a glorious nine-year spell by manager Jurgen Klopp. During the time Klopp brought back the glory days and achieved some of the things that his predecessors had been unable to. He was able to guide the Reds to their first ever Premier League title which was their nineteenth top flight title overall. He also managed to win the Champions League as well as the League Cup during his time with the club making him one of the most successful managers the club has ever had.
On a day when the first team played Wolverhampton Wanderers on the final day of the season the stadium was filled with emotion as the club put on a lavish farewell ceremony in which it said good bye to one of its most loved leaders and coaches.
In reality, the game was little more than a pleasant backdrop to the Klopp farewell – first-half goals from Alex Mac Allister and Jarell Quansah giving Liverpool a deserved 2-0 win.
It was then it was time for the finale all Anfield had been waiting for.
Seconds from the final whistle, Klopp stood up and went along his backroom team one by one, all grabbed in the familiar bearhug.
During what was an extremely emotional ceremony in which the club said good bye to many players who had a served the club well but decided to move on, chairman John Henry formed part of a line of officials for a presentation in which several key figures were rewarded for their time and effort at the club. They all then formed part of a guard of honour which the club felt that Klopp deserved for all of his achievements during his time at the club.
Klopp delivered a pre-recorded message on giant screens to Borussia Dortmund’s supporters when he left the club, after breaking down in tears when he addressed fans on leaving Mainz.
No such worries this time.
Anfield has no screens but this was no problem for Klopp, who was in boisterous mood as he took the microphone.
He said “I’m so happy. I can’t believe it” before bursting into song as an instrument for passing the Liverpool torch from himself to soon-to-be-anointed successor Arne Slot.
Simply replacing his own name with Slot’s, Klopp told Anfield what they must do when the Dutchman arrives, singing: “Arne Slot, na na na na na” to the tune of Opus’ Live Is Life.
His only mis-step all afternoon was going slightly too early through a guard of honour formed by Liverpool’s players and officials, but no matter – he did another lap for good measure before approaching a platform of club dignitaries to thunderous roars and applause.
Having announced he was standing down at the end of the season in January, the club had plenty of time to prepare for the post Klopp era and look for a successor.
There was a massive recruitment drive in which the club looked at all the best coaches all over the world to assess whether they were suitable for the role. At the end of this process it was confirmed that Feyenoord coach Arne Slot would be the next man to take charge of the club. He will arrive after serving three years in charge of the Dutch Club who currently plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football.
Slot, 45, will arrive after three years in charge of Feyenoord where he delivered one Eredivisie title, the Dutch Cup and reached the Europa Conference League final.
