The altering face of Jurgen Klopp
- Jurgen Klopp will take charge of his final game as Liverpool manager against Wolves on Sunday at Anfield
- The German manager first took charge of the Reds in 2015 and will leave Merseyside with legendary status
- Marcus Rashford has to leave Man United… and a Premier League club could offer him a fresh start – Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off! podcast
Jurgen Klopp is gearing up for the final match in charge of Liverpool after nearly a decade at the club and the German has certainly changed over the years.
The Reds boss only has one match left in his role after announcing in January that he would be departing at the end of the season and is set to be given a memorable farewell by the Anfield faithful following Sunday’s clash with Wolves.
The club hoped to give their legendary manager the perfect goodbye by securing a second Premier League title in addition to more silverware on the continent but it wasn’t to be.
Nonetheless, the momentous occasion has had fans reflecting on Klopp’s time on Merseyside and how far he and the team have come since he arrived from Borussia Dortmund in 2015.
Here, Mail Sport takes a look at how Klopp has changed over the years.
Jurgen Klopp is gearing up for his final ever match in the dugout for Liverpool this weekend when the Reds take on Wolves
Arne Slot has confirmed that he will be succeeding Klopp next season after he leaves Dutch side Feyenoord at the end of the campaign
The 48-year-old arrived at Anfield from Borussia Dortmund still a young man in managerial terms. Sporting his trademark glasses, blonder hair and short beard, the German brought with him a sense of expectation. The Reds would go on to reach two finals but lose them both, the League Cup to Man City and the Europa League to Sevilla.
Klopp had begun to grow out his hair and beard by the time his second season came about. The likes of Joel Matip, Sadio Mane, and Georginio Wijnaldum arrived in the summer and Klopp went on to guide his team back into the top four after two years without Champions League football.
The German came into his third campaign on the hunt for a first trophy with the Reds and nearly claimed the biggest of the lot. Liverpool reached the Champions League final, knocking out Porto, City and Roma on the way, but came up short against Real Madrid.
Klopp, pictured during the Champions League semi-final against, Roma, had entered into his 50s by the time the season was reaching its climax but he still cut the figure of a young and energetic coach at the end of the 2017-18 season.
The greys in Klopp’s beard had started to become a little more prevalent as he entered into the 2018-19 season and it was a year that Liverpool fans would never forget.
Klopp and his team made up for the previous year’s Champions League final defeat by going all the way. An epic semi-final comeback from 3-0 down against Barcelona was followed by victory over Tottenham in the final as Klopp finally secured the first trophy of his reign.
More trophies followed for Klopp and his men as they won the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup (pictured above) in the first half of the 2019-20 campaign
The Liverpool boss opted for the shortest trim of his tenure he came into his fifth season in charge of the club – one that fans will never forget after the COVID outbreak
More history was made as the Merseyside outfit finally overcame Man City to claim their first Premier League title in 30 years. They went 27 games unbeaten (26 wins and a draw) from the start of the league campaign and did not lose until they faced Wolves on matchday 28. Their march to glory was delayed by the pandemic but the Reds were eventually crowned champions with seven games to go, 23 points ahead of City.
A big move from Klopp, who announced at the start of the 2020-21 season that we was ditching his iconic glasses. The manager revealed that he had undergone minor surgery to correct his vision as the glasses could no longer correct his poor eyesight. It was also suggested that the Liverpool boss had been experimenting with hair dye.
The following season saw Klopp complete and League and FA Cup double and he cut a more rugged figure as he and his players paraded their silverware through the streets.
Klopp opted for a cap as the Community Shield raised the curtain for the 2022-23 campaign – a look that he often went for throughout his tenure.
A new hairstyle was revealed once the cap came off with Klopp sporting a shorter do with somewhat of an old school quiff. It was a difficult year for his team as they finished outside of the Champions League places for the first time since his first season in charge.
Klopp entered what would prove to be his final season in charge with a more relaxed look but it would prove to be a stressful time. Klopp made the shock announcement that it was be his swansong in January with his team five points clear at the top of the table. Unfortunately for him, hopes of a fairytale ending slipped away over the following months but they did win the Carabao Cup as a consolation.
Klopp decided to cut his hair shorter than ever for his final months as he geared up for what is set to be an extremely emotional farewell this Sunday
