4 reasons why emotion will pull Jurgen Klopp to Liverpool

Klopp has the necessary charisma and experience to excel at a famous club. The former Borussia Dortmund boss is also well versed in exceeding expectations and outperforming teams with bigger budgets having beaten Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga title in 2011 and 2012.

Less clear, perhaps, is why Klopp might want the Liverpool job. He has been linked with the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid in the past six months, with the Bayern job possibly available at the end of the season, and the Premier League’s top four is increasingly looking like a closed shop.

But perhaps we shouldn’t be so logical about such things. Perhaps Klopp isn’t attracted by the probability of success or the minutiae of the league table, but by emotion. Yes, gushing, heartfelt emotion.

German tabloid BILD speculates that is indeed the case on Monday morning. And few football clubs do emotion more enthusiastically than Liverpool.

BILD says there are four particular emotional pulls that mean Klopp would love to take over at Liverpool, and they are as follows…

Yes, Klopp genuinely loves the home of Liverpool, and “the atmosphere, the passion, the emotions” according to BILD. It is the kind of football environment in which he feels most comfortable.

In 2014, prior to a friendly, he even slapped the ‘Welcome to Anfield’ sign.

It’s arguably the most iconic anthem in football, so much so that it is often observed with the reverence afforded to a religious ritual when Liverpool matches are on TV, with commentary falling silent as Anfield croons.

But did you know that Dortmund fans sing it as well? A minor point, perhaps, but an emotional link nonetheless. And emotion, according to BILD, is going to play a role in Klopp’s decision.

The BILD article says Liverpool is a club which is “very close to the people and a sanctuary for the fans – another parallel to Borussia Dortmund”. They highlight the fact it’s a working class institution in a working class city, just as Dortmund are in the coalfields of the Ruhr.

Whether Liverpool still retain that identity is doubtful, owned as they now are by the American group FSG, with designs on exploiting commercial opportunities in every corner of the globe. But there’s no question that the club of the great Bill Shankly has rock-solid working class credentials.

Shankly was a proud socialist and Liverpool fans adored him. He once said:

Remember the send-off Klopp was given by Dortmund fans? This is a man who knows how to engage with a passionate group of supporters and the love shown to him by Signal Iduna Park was reciprocated.

If he comes to Liverpool and has the same kind of success, there is no question he will be feted and adored by Liverpool supporters, who are also highly emotionally engaged in their club and their football.

They gave Steven Gerrard a similar send-off when he left for LA Galaxy this summer.

According to BILD, “all the prerequisites for a dream football manager are in place”. Which is good to know. Now Liverpool just need to make sure it is consummated.