When Jurgen Klopp walked through the doors at Melwood in October 2015, Liverpool were a club searching for direction.
Brendan Rodgers’ tenure had run its course, the spark of the 2013/14 title challenge long extinguished, and the squad he left behind looked a shadow of what it once promised to be.
Klopp, the charismatic German who called himself “The Normal One” upon arrival, inherited a team that lacked identity and confidence. Yet, with his trademark energy and belief, he managed to restore both guiding the Reds back to the pinnacle of European and domestic football.
In his nine years at the helm, Klopp delivered the long-awaited Premier League title, a Champions League crown, and countless unforgettable nights that reminded the football world what Liverpool Football Club truly stands for.
But what did he really think when he first saw the squad he had inherited?
Speaking on The Diary of a CEO podcast, the 58-year-old reflected on those early days when even the supporters, and at times the players themselves, seemed to have lost faith in the team.
“When I arrived at Liverpool, nobody liked the players, nobody liked the team not even the Liverpool team liked the team!” Klopp admitted with a laugh. “But I liked the team! I liked Firmino, I liked Benteke, I loved Origi, I knew Henderson. And I heard only: ‘not good enough.’
“But I liked that team, I liked those players! I saw an engine room, I saw smart players. I saw players who really want to work hard.”
He added: “I knew I wouldn’t step in a shining dressing room. But okay, fine let’s build.”
Those words perfectly capture Klopp’s managerial essence. Where most saw a depleted squad and a fading identity, Klopp saw raw materials the foundation of something that could be built, moulded, and eventually turned into champions.
It’s easy now, with hindsight, to view Liverpool’s revival as inevitable. But in 2015, the mood was bleak. The squad had lost belief. Many supporters were sceptical. The aura of Anfield that unique synergy between players and fans had dulled.
The group Klopp inherited included Roberto Firmino, Divock Origi, Christian Benteke, Jordan Henderson, Philippe Coutinho, Adam Lallana, Emre Can, and others. Individually, there was talent. Collectively, it didn’t yet fit.
Firmino, who arrived from Hoffenheim under Rodgers, was viewed by many as a misfit a talented Brazilian who hadn’t yet found his place in English football. Klopp, however, immediately saw what others couldn’t.
“I liked Firmino,” he said simply and that quiet conviction proved prophetic.
Under Klopp, Firmino evolved into the heartbeat of Liverpool’s attack a selfless forward whose intelligence, movement, and pressing embodied the manager’s philosophy.
Then there was Origi. “I loved Origi,” Klopp admitted. The Belgian striker’s time at Liverpool would be defined not by consistency but by moments unforgettable ones. Barcelona. Tottenham. Everton. Newcastle. When Liverpool needed a hero from the bench, Origi was there.
And Christian Benteke? Klopp was equally open. “I liked Benteke,” he said. Benteke, though, was a player from another era of Liverpool a traditional centre-forward who thrived on crosses rather than pressing traps. Despite Klopp’s admiration, the system never quite suited him, and Benteke would move to Crystal Palace after just one season.
Perhaps the most striking part of Klopp’s reflection is his admission about Jordan Henderson.
When Klopp arrived, Henderson was already under intense scrutiny. Appointed captain after Steven Gerrard’s departure, he faced the near-impossible task of stepping into the shoes of a Liverpool legend.
Inside and outside the club, doubts lingered. “I heard only: ‘not good enough,’” Klopp recalled.
But Klopp saw beyond the noise. He saw leadership potential. A player who ran, fought, and carried himself with professionalism the exact traits he valued.
Under Klopp’s guidance, Henderson became the emotional and tactical leader of the side. By 2020, he was lifting the Premier League trophy the same player who many thought wasn’t fit to wear the armband.
That transformation symbolised everything Klopp brought to Liverpool: belief, loyalty, and an understanding that greatness isn’t always immediate.
By 2019, that belief was rewarded with a Champions League triumph in Madrid. A year later, Liverpool ended their 30-year wait for a league title.
From the rubble of 2015, Klopp created a machine that became the envy of world football.
When Klopp finally left Liverpool in 2024, he didn’t just leave behind a trophy cabinet he left behind a philosophy. The unity, the connection with supporters, the sense that Liverpool could once again stare down any opponent and believe they could win.
And it all began with a man who, in his own words, looked at a team everyone else had given up on and said:
“Nobody liked the players. Nobody liked the team. Not even the Liverpool team liked the team. But I liked the team.”
Klopp’s legacy will be remembered not only for the silverware, but for that belief the simple, stubborn faith that he could turn something ordinary into something extraordinary.
Liverpool didn’t just find success again under Jurgen Klopp. They found themselves.
